Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Choosing a Color Space
The other thing you may need to do to get good color from Elements is to check which
color
space
the program is using. Color spaces are standards that Elements uses to define colors.
That may sound pretty abstruse, but they're simply ways of defining what colors mean.
Figure 7-6. If all the images from your digital camera have a color cast (usually red or yellow), go
to Edit→Preferences→Saving Files/Photoshop Elements Editor→Preferences→Saving Files, and
turn on “Ignore Camera Data (EXIF) profiles.” Some cameras embed nonstandard color info in
their files, so this setting tells Elements to ignore it, which should make your photos display and
print properly.
For example, when someone says “green,” what do you envision: a lush emerald color, a
deep forest green, a bright lime, or something else? Choosing a color space helps make sure
that everything that handles a digital file—Elements, your monitor, your printer, and so
on—sees the file's colors the same way. Over the years, the graphics industry has agreed on
standards so that everyone has the same understanding of what you mean when you say
“red” or “green”—as long as you specify which color space (set of standards) you're using.
Elements gives you two color spaces to pick from:
sRGB
(also called
sRGB IEC61966-2.1
if
you want to impress your geek friends) and
Adobe RGB
. When you choose one, you're
telling Elements which set of standards you want it to apply to your photos.
If you're happy with the colors you see on your monitor in Elements and you like the prints
you're getting, you don't need to make any changes. If, on the other hand, you aren't satis-
