Color spaces are important in professional photography, particularly if you’re submitting an image or images for commercial work. Below you’ll find a quick guide to working with color spaces in Lightroom.

Lightroom

Unlike Photoshop, Lightroom uses the ProPhotoRGB color space the entire time it’s processing a file. Users can’t adjust or change that setting/process. However, this approach isn’t without its benefits:

It allows a user to export various versions of the same image - each with its adjusted color space.
You lose less color information during processing.
ProPhotoRGB is best to work in because it has the largest color space.
This method saves time by simplifying color management for the user by preselecting which space to work in until you export your images.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Both Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop and Lightroom use their own color space when processing files based on ProPhoto RGB. This means there is a vast color range (color values that fit in color space) with which to work because of what modern digital sensors can do.

Exporting in Lightroom

One significant advantage of Lightroom is that when you go to export an image, it gives you the choice of three color spaces:

ProPhotoRGB: This is the largest of the options. It approximates the range of colors for a digital camera sensor.
Adobe RGB (1998): This one is smaller than ProPhoto RGB but larger than sRGB. It approximates the color gamut of CMYK printers typically used to print books and magazines.
sRGB: This one is the smallest color space of the three, and it renders the color space that most monitors can display.

Comparing color spaces

Now let’s take a closer look at the color spaces side by side. The two graphs demonstrate how my monitor displays the sRGB compared to the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces. The green triangle is the sRGB color space; the red one is my monitor’s color gamut. They are almost identical.

Only high-end monitors can display all the colors within the Adobe RGB (1998) color space. You can see the difference in the graph between the purple triangle and the red one representing my monitor’s color gamut.

The next step will compare the ProPhoto RGB, Adobe RGB (1998), and sRGB color spaces, with ProPhoto RGB clearly the largest.

Selecting color space when exporting

With the differences in mind, here is a guide to help you select a color space when you’re going to export images in Lightroom.

Adobe RGB (1998): Consider using this one only if it’s requested by a client. If you’re unsure, ask before you submit a photo. Many professional commercial submissions will be in this color space.
sRGB: This one should be used for images to be shared online or printed with most inkjet printers or at most commercial labs. If you’re exporting using Lightroom’s Web module, it will automatically set the color space of exported files to sRGB.
ProPhoto RGB: If you’re exporting a photo to another program (such as Photoshop or a plug-in), you’ll want to use this one and export the File as a 16-bit TIFF or PSD file. Keep in mind that when importing a JPEG or TIFF file into Lightroom, it will use the File’s embedded color profile. If there is no color profile attached, it will assume that it’s an sRGB file. Then if you choose an alternate color space when you export that File, Lightroom will convert it.

Exporting photos with Lightroom

Select the image/images you want to export.
Go to File> Export.
Go to the File Settings section of the Export window and set the required color space. (If you select ProPhoto RGB, you need to set Bit Depth to 16 bits/component.)

Transferring to Photoshop

If you want to transfer an image to Photoshop, right-click on the image and select Edit In > Edit In Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop will open the photo using the color space indicated in Lightroom’s preferences.
To adjust that setting, go to the Edit -> Assign Profile, and set Color Space to ProPhoto RGB. (You can select a different color space, but ProPhoto RGB is your best option.)

Compression and color spaces

Lightroom uses ProPhoto RGB color space because this version doesn’t compress the colors captured by your camera’s sensor. It’s important to note that if you chose either Adobe RGB (1998) or sRGB color space, Lightroom would compress the photo’s colors to match the selected profile. For that reason, we suggest selecting the color space at the end or near the end of your post-processing workflow.

Also, because your monitor is more than likely not able to display all of the colors, Lightroom works within its version of the ProPhoto RGB color space. Your computer’s operating system will convert the colors to ones that your monitor is capable of displaying.

Summing-up

While the explanation to color spaces can be a bit confusing, it’s not a confusing or complicated process in Lightroom. Lightroom manages all color spaces for you until you go to export your images. Be sure your monitor’s colors are calibrated according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once you go to export, simply select the color space according to your needs.

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