Articles on Colour & Calibration

Read more photographic Articles on Colour & Calibration. Articles provided by Professional Imagemaker magazine, a publication for photographers who are members of the Societies.

Getting The Measure Of Colour Calibration
‘Pretty pictures’, conversely, aim to flatter or enhance the subject, possibly sacrificing colour accuracy - a Caucasian bride, for example, may be given an artificial tan by increasing the saturation of the skin tones, a dark-skinned bride may prefer to be imaged slightly paler. Either way, the change from reality is considered to be an enhancement.
8 - STEPS TO Perfection
The R1800 uses Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss. inks. There are eight cartridges in this printer including Matte and Photo Blacks, a red and a blue, a gloss optimiser, along with the usual suspects, cyan, magenta and yellow.
Adobe (RGB)1998 versus sRGB
The debate on choice of RGB working space goes on and on and so perhaps it is timely to put the thing to rest or at least give you the tools to make the decision.
Camera Calibration
There seem to be two schools of thought on colour accuracy (for that is what we are talking about) – one school frets and fusses over it, the other takes the view that if the customers are happy and they (the photographers) prefer to tweak their colour anyway then it matters not a jot. I do not propose to take sides on the matter, only to point out some of the issues and pitfalls.
Colour Adjustment - Part 1
One of the most potent features of digital imaging is the ability to colour correct before output. This strength comes from two quarters, the ability to measure within the image and the ability to correct using numerical values. Both add great precision to the procedure, so much in fact that you can colour correct with impaired colour vision, providing you know the target numbers of various parts of the image.
Colour Adjustment - Part 2
Numbers are a key part of digital manipulation. No two people would be able to mix a “turquoise” in separate rooms and come up with the same colour. However, if they were told
Colour Adjustment - Part 3
In Part 1 we looked at the structure of colour and colour perception. Part 2 looked at the numerical controls available typically in Photoshop. In Part 3 we look at the initial exposure of an image followed by a logical progression towards the optimum final output.
Colour Adjustment - Part 4
Before you can drive a value onto an aim colour you have to know what that aim value is. The easiest route to this is the inclusion of a reference colour within the shot.
Colour Adjustment - Part 5
In our continuing series on colour correction we look at the problems associated with correction of real images, in which the adjustments have to be tuned to the known characteristics of the printer/paper/ink combination.

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