Color Profile Question

[jam1212]

Hi all,

I've recently gotten a bid at doing some retouching for a wedding photographer. I'm going to be working on a few images as a test of sorts to see if I get the gig or not.

So, here's my question. My workflow currently involves opening the RAW files in ACR, doing the normal edits there, and then opening them in PS using the proPhoto color profile and 16 bit. If I save the final image with the proPhoto profile, will it appear accurately when she views it on her computer? Or should I be converting it to sRGB or some other profile upon final save?

I would just hate for all my hard work to go to waste simply because of a color profile confusion that changes how it looks. Thanks for your help!

[pixelzombie]

i would not convert to sRGB unless you are instructed to do so...

[mistermonday]

I would definitely convert to sRGB unless you are told not too. Reason being if the photographer is not using a color managed environment and they open the image in some program other than PS, or if they open it in PS and do not have profiles mismatches flagged, the image with teh prophoto profile will look like something from the planet Pandora - and I don't mean that in a good way. Moreover if they take the image and try to run a print in a print system that is not color managed, ditto. You are not likely to go wrong with sRGB as it is the default color space for all.
Regards, Murray

[jam1212]

Murray,

That's great to know. That's exactly what I was worried about in the first place, and as the photographer has little to no computer knowledge, I feel like this would in fact be a problem. Thanks for the help!

[holgaman]

I would just ask the photographer what she prefers rather than trying to guess. There are too many variables to consider. If she opens the files in Photoshop and has Preserve Embedded profiles checked you're good. If it's for web, sRGB is what you need, if for print, it depends on what the printer needs. sRGB is more universal, but you lose more there. In any case, I'm betting she won't want them in ProPhoto, it's just not as commonly used outside of Photoshop.