Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:44 am
Barri,
There's no point working in the prophoto colour space if you've shot in Jpeg as the colours have already been compressed, you can't bring back information that's no longer there. I know you often work with Jpegs Barri, so don't bother with prophoto if that's what your're working with, there's simply no point. Working with ProphotoRGB v RGB is kinda like 8 bit v 16 bit, you've simply got more information to work with. What's the one thing that those of us that shot with black and white film, miss? Latitude; That's the main argument against digital black and white. Nobody ever complained that they had too much latitude when shooting with black and white film. My printer (and others) with certain papers can produce colours that are beyond AdobeRGB let alone srgb. I'm not trying to create scifi colours, I'm trying to avoid issues like gamut clipping. I've got to say to that there is no way that a 16 bit file's more likely to lead to banding/ posterizing than 8bit file is, as banding/ posterizing is due to a loss of digital information which is far more likely to occur when editing in 8bit mode then it is in 16 bit.
A poor monitor is often the cause for visibly poor transitions of tone, you've got to have a monitor that's up to the job. If you're sat there under a tungsten energy saving bulb trying to calibrate a poor monitor by sight, then you might as well carry on doing what you're doing, pal. You're never going to be able to trust that what you're seeing on your screen is accurate, so I'd not worry about it. But if you really want to make prints to the best of your ability, then Barri, there's a limit to what you can learn on a forum, you really should consider getting Bruce Fraser's real world colour management and something like a video tutorial such as Luminous landscapes "From Camera To Print" which will go a long way to helping you understand the issues involved, consider attending one of Epson's print academies. that will allow you to make an informed choice, you can't work with something unless you fully understand it. If it's a question of belief, it's got to be based on knowledge.
My shots are now off pbase, I'm out of here. But if I sent you one of my shots now, I know you'd not be seeing what I'm seeing. It's no good me sat here with D50 lighting, an Eizo hardware calibrated (not the same thing as sofware calibrated) monitor thinking that people online are going to see my images as I do. Too many variables, too much poor colour management. In truth it's prints that I'm interested in, not low res files on the net. If Photographs are an impression of the world then web images are mere impressions of photographs and most often poor ones. If you're going to make good prints which is a craft in itself, then you're going to need to fully get grips with colour management. I've just bought a portable D50 and 3500k lamp so people can view my prints in the right light. If I take my prints to somebody, I'll take the light with me.
It all really boils down to how much you care about it. It's not a secret known only to members of the magic circle, you just can't guess your way through it, you've got to learn it fully and you wont do that on a forum.
This is my last post on Pbase so forgive me If I don't reply;
I'm off to print some photographs
Take it easy
Sean
What uses having a great depth of field, if there is not an adequate depth of feeling? -
W. Eugene Smith