The two words that, in my conversations with a lot of fellow photographers, will invoke any one/multiple/all of the following three responses:
1) Huh? (or better yet whaaa?)
2) (*#&(*&^@*&%
3) Well, theoretically, the inverse of the square 10111000010101000011100100101…
Ever get a print back with colors that don’t match what you have on your monitor? Ever get B&W prints that aren’t really B&W? I mean, they’re sorta flat.. maybe have a magenta cast to them? Well kiddies, it’s time to learn about COLOR MANAGEMENT! I’m tired of crossing my fingers, lighting candles, and praying each time I await a print order from a vendor! It’s time to do something about it!
Chatting with numerous photo buddies, I am amazed at how many have no desire to understand color space, yet they obsess about the output of their photographic efforts. When you spend so much time and effort learning the art/craft of photography, and you’re so dedicated in your composition, cropping, editing, etc. -why would you not care about learning color management? I’ve been reading numerous sources as of late, trying to piece this complex puzzle together. At times, my brain feels like it’s going to pop. So, embarking on a journey to find resources that would allow detailed, digestible insights into this complex topic was a must for me.
Having attended an Eddie Tapp/Monte Zucker seminar last fall/winter, I was impressed with Tapp’s ability to teach complicated subjects in a digestible fashion for the average bear. In other words, he makes it easy for plain folk to understand complex topics. In a fit of blazing brilliance (as I get older, these don’t happen as often), I remembered Tapp had published a recent book in his series, this one on color management.
If you’ve not yet investigated this book, I highly recommend you do so sooner than later. Title: PRACTICAL COLOR MANAGEMENT Author: Eddie Tapp Publisher: O’REILLY.
If you are a geek of any sort, you’ll immediately know that simply bearing the O’REILLY publisher’s name will pretty well prove (99% of the time) a great educational purchase. Tapp’s excellent communication methods, organization, and presentation work beautifully with O’REILLY’s usual near perfect delivery of technical matters. The marriage of these two is a fabulous thing.
Uh, yes… I bought yet another book. :O) I spent most of the afternoon on the couch reading this great find… you will too!
I think being a GOOD photographer requires the understanding of numerous aspects of technology these days. You need to understand color space, technical bits/bytes about your camera, software, hardware, printing, profiles, and myriad other little pieces of info. To me, it’s imperative that you never stop reading, learning, searching as well as shooting. The move to digital has placed a great burden/responsibility on the shoulders of the modern photographer. Go buy a book… when you’re done, maybe I’ll buy it from you for 1/2 price if it’s really good… Hahahha!
Some other great spots for educating yourself about color space and management are:
Norman Koren’s kick-butt page: http://www.normankoren.com/color_management.html This is a great introductory page. You might want to make sure you have a fresh cup of coffee/tea/glass of coke before you start reading. There’s a lot of information here.
James King, of Adobe has a wicked little white paper you can find here: http://www.color.org/whycolormanagement.pdf This is only about 1/2 cup of coffee. A nice primer.
Cambridge Colour has a nice tutorial for folks who need pictures to learn/apply knowledge (YEAH! like me!) http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/color-management1.htm This is really a good set to go through after having read any of the above. I’ve read them, and am reading Tapp’s book – I think you should read Tapp’s book first, and then check these pages out.
All in all, you can find bazillions of places online to read about color management… the ones I’ve mentioned are but a few. My quest, is to be the most informed, and savvy photographer I can be. The eye is there, the equipment is there… Now I want my prints to be *there*. You know, I honestly had NO Idea at the onset of digital, that I would “be the lab”… There are days when it would be so nice to just pop that roll of film in the mailer, and send it off to SLIDE PRINTER, or some other lab… <sigh> But, as a digital shooter, you can no longer be languid, and lazy. Well, you can, but it will inevitably show in the quality of your prints.
~neens
