When I go to view additional display profiles, I see a lot more options, but none that are just "sRGB" like I've seen in some other programs.
I see Rec709 Gamma 2.4 in there... Apple RGB... and so on.
My question for you all is, what's the "proper" color space to export in? Most of my work ends up in the digital world. Instagram, website/blog pages, and so on.
p.1 #2 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
Your export space should match the device/medium you're sending it to. If that's web, then sRGB is advised. If it's print, then the appropriate paper profile for the specific printer is what you want. P3 is my editing space, or more accurately my raw file (and PS) primary working space. It's relatively big, and allows decent editing room and then makes a good conversion to most anything else downstream without losing a lot of relevant color data. A good monitor profile is what allows colors to look correct on whatever monitor you're using; and to be clear, your laptop is going to be different from your desktop monitor.
When I go to view additional display profiles, I see a lot more options, but none that are just "sRGB" like I've seen in some other programs.
I see Rec709 Gamma 2.4 in there... Apple RGB... and so on.
My question for you all is, what's the "proper" color space to export in? Most of my work ends up in the digital world. Instagram, website/blog pages, and so on.
p.1 #4 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
As this was said earlier, "Your export space should match the device/medium you're sending it to."
Presumably, you are not printing and all your photos are intended to be viewed electronically. Thus, the question is about the color gamut of the device(s) that you use to view the images.
To the best of my knowledge all modern Apple laptops and iPhones have Display P3 panels. If this is one of yours, then export with the embedded Display P3 profile. For "third-party" displays, check the native color gamut (in the specifications). Technically speaking, this comes with the expectation that that you have calibrated your display(s), and your computer is using the calibrated color profile(s) and the full native color gamut of your display(s). If you have a wide-gamut panel, then use Display P3.
There are informative articles on the Internet about the advantages of Display P3 vs sRGB. Basically, Display P3 (compared to sRGB) allows you to see image details in the vibrant greens and reds. For example, vibrant red rose petals may look relatively "flat" in sRGB. If your photos don't feature important vibrant greens and reds, then sRGB should be fine to use, but to the best of my knowledge there is no downside to using Display P3.
p.1 #5 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
If you are staying within the apple envrionment, apple devices, or color managed browsers P3 is pretty good.
Here is a summary of what different online sites do with non sRGB images. Some preserve and some do not and what the viewer sees depends on their app/browser.
I can't vouch for all the results from online summary yet it appears that your mileage may vary still
]Summary of site / device handling of color spaces[/url]
p.1 #6 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
It is understandable that when images are accessed on the Internet, the "final display depends on the viewer's browser." My experience is that this is a lesser concern and the common browsers are all capable of displaying Display P3 jpegs. Some standalone apps/image viewers may or may not be color-managed. One example from my experience is the FastStone Image Viewer that, despite my efforts and despite the presence of an option in settings to make the app "Color Space aware", I was unable to make to display Display P3 jpeg other than as sRGB. Actually, I am not sure if there isn't an underlying problem with Windows being unable to recognize jpegs with an embedded Display P3 profile. I use both Mac and Windows systems. I see that on the Mac, a Display P3 jpeg is recognized (in properties/EXIF) correctly in PhotoMechanic or ApolloOne viewer. On the Windows laptop, "Color Representation" appears as "Uncalibrated" in file properties. InfranView shows the "ColorSpace" as "Uncalibrated/Unknown (-1)."
I am not sure if other users who have access to both Mac and Windows computers can confirm this behavior?
p.1 #7 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
ruthenium wrote:
It is understandable that when images are accessed on the Internet, the "final display depends on the viewer's browser." My experience is that this is a lesser concern and the common browsers are all capable of displaying Display P3 jpegs. Some standalone apps/image viewers may or may not be color-managed. One example from my experience is the FastStone Image Viewer that, despite my efforts and despite the presence of an option in settings to make the app "Color Space aware", I was unable to make to display Display P3 jpeg other than as sRGB. Actually, I am not sure if there isn't an underlying problem with Windows being unable to recognize jpegs with an embedded Display P3 profile. I use both Mac and Windows systems. I see that on the Mac, a Display P3 jpeg is recognized (in properties/EXIF) correctly in PhotoMechanic or ApolloOne viewer. On the Windows laptop, "Color Representation" appears as "Uncalibrated" in file properties. InfranView shows the "ColorSpace" as "Uncalibrated/Unknown (-1)."
I am not sure if other users who have access to both Mac and Windows computers can confirm this behavior? ...Show more →
The problems arise from there are many ways to indicate color space in the metadata and many apps only look at one or two locations at best and therefore does not always come up with consistent answers. Here is a list of the many metadata tags that can have connections with color space:
✅ Main Ways JPEG Metadata Indicates Color Space or Embeds a Profile
Mechanism Segment or Tag Description Notes
--------------------------- -------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------
Embedded ICC Profile APP2 (ICC_PROFILE) Contains full ICC profile used to define color space Most reliable method; apps like Photoshop, Lightroom read this.
JFIF Color Space APP0 (JFIF) JFIF marker has a colorspace or density field Implies YCbCr or RGB. No ICC profile. Many apps ignore this now.
Exif Color Space Tag APP1 (Exif) ColorSpace tag (0xA001) in TIFF/Exif format Values: 1 = sRGB, FFFF = Uncalibrated; sometimes ignored.
Adobe APP14 Marker APP14 (Adobe) Has transform field for YCbCr/RGB Primarily used by Adobe apps; values: 0=RGB, 1=YCbCr, 2=YCCK
Photoshop Image Resources APP13 (Photoshop 3.0) Adobe's IPTC-style blocks may contain ICC info Often legacy; rarely used for color space now.
XMP Metadata APP1 (XMP) Contains <iccProfile> or <photoshop:ICCProfile> Used in modern workflows; ignored by legacy software.
JFIF Extension (JFXX) APP0 (JFXX) Rare; can reference thumbnails in YCbCr or RGB Not relevant for primary color space use.
Quantization/Compression SOF0, DQT, DHT Indirect, but JPEG DCT coefficients can suggest No explicit color space, but helps infer color model.
Info YCbCr vs RGB
When I go to view additional display profiles, I see a lot more options, but none that are just "sRGB" like I've seen in some other programs.
I see Rec709 Gamma 2.4 in there... Apple RGB... and so on.
My question for you all is, what's the "proper" color space to export in? Most of my work ends up in the digital world. Instagram, website/blog pages, and so on.
sRGB was created by Microsoft and Hewlett Packard in the 1990s. A few years later in 1999 it became official Standard number 61966.2.1 of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Most people still call it "sRGB" but now it's more correctly known as "sRGB IEC61966-2.1:1999" or just "sRGB IEC61966-2.1". So that explains why don't find a simple "sRGB" option in LrC.
It is often not the best nor even the most appropriate colorspace to use but it is probably the one most likely to work ok on computers that have "normal" monitors but are not using any color management, which pretty much means the great majority of computers.
I suggest it is better for you to let LrC create an sRGB IEC61966-2.1 version of your image than to leave it anonymous, especially for the benefit of people are using a correctly profiled monitor and a web browser that knows how to handle color management. At least we'll get to see it look "right". However, don't dumb down your original master image file to sRGB because that would discard some color information forever. i.e. keep your master camera files distinct from internet files and manage them separately.
p.1 #9 · Question about sRGB color and gamma in Lightroom Classic on export
ruthenium wrote:
It is understandable that when images are accessed on the Internet, the "final display depends on the viewer's browser." My experience is that this is a lesser concern and the common browsers are all capable of displaying Display P3 jpegs. Some standalone apps/image viewers may or may not be color-managed. One example from my experience is the FastStone Image Viewer that, despite my efforts and despite the presence of an option in settings to make the app "Color Space aware", I was unable to make to display Display P3 jpeg other than as sRGB. Actually, I am not sure if there isn't an underlying problem with Windows being unable to recognize jpegs with an embedded Display P3 profile. I use both Mac and Windows systems. I see that on the Mac, a Display P3 jpeg is recognized (in properties/EXIF) correctly in PhotoMechanic or ApolloOne viewer. On the Windows laptop, "Color Representation" appears as "Uncalibrated" in file properties. InfranView shows the "ColorSpace" as "Uncalibrated/Unknown (-1)."
I am not sure if other users who have access to both Mac and Windows computers can confirm this behavior? ...Show more →
I did a test where I saved from Photoshop a P3 colorspace image and made sure the color space ICC profile was embedded in the file itself.
I then dumped the metadata to exaime what it was saying.
One piece of metadata indicated:
[ICC_Profile] ProfileDescription : P3
Yet another standard piece of metadata said it was uncalibrated:
[ExifIFD] ColorSpace : Uncalibrated
This later metadata basically has two values being 1 for sRGB and FFFF fro uncalibrated. I suspect if the value is not 1, it just determines that it is uncalibrated.
So I suspect that for the software that is indicated it is uncalibrate is only checking that one piece of metadata and ignoring the embedded ICC profile.
My understanding was the Infranview would recognize embedded color spaces so this does not explain why Infranview is seeing a file with embedded color space as uncalibrated. Have you verifed that the colorspace is actually embedded. I do not have a Window machine to delve into further.
ADDED EDIT: In looking at the hex value of [ExifIFD] it is FFFF in hex so when it is sRGB it is encoded as 1 and for anything other than sRGB it is encoded as FFFF or uncalibrated. So P3 is not encoded into this piece of metadata
