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How to Choose the Right Color Space

By Chris Corradino on May 06, 2015

 

The New York Institute of Photography is the world’s largest online photography school, and because we are, we often publish fun and useful photography tips. Please enjoy!

How to Choose the Right Color Space

If the colors of your printed images appear dull or just plain inaccurate, you may have used the wrong color space. Check your camera menu right now. Does it say Adobe RGB? If so, you have just found the cause of the problem. Simply change it to sRGB in your camera menu and don't look back. The reason is simple; it gives the most consistent results. Not only does it work well for printing, but also for images shared on the web. Now there will be some experts who proclaim Adobe RGB to be superior as it technically captures more colors. While this is true in theory, it does not translate well in practice as most printers and devices are set to sRGB. If you're not sure, ask the lab what color space they recommend.

If this sounds a bit daunting, don't worry, you're not alone. This subject is one of the most common sources of frustration for photography students. While it may appear unnecessarily technical at first, it's not nearly as complicated as you might imagine. With this one simple change, you’ll immediately enjoy more consistent results with rich vibrant color.

Want to take your photography skills to the next level? NYIP offers 9 great online photography courses to help you do just that. Request your free course catalog today!

About the Author

Chris Corradino is the head of the photography mentor program at NYIP. Just like all of our mentors, he is also a professional photographer. See Chris's photography lesson from last week for more.