Part 2 - Variables, Variables, Variables

Getting Started

Understanding the monitor experience encountered on my cross-country flight, what are the odds that your computer monitor is accurately displaying the images you painstakingly labored over in the field? Answer: slim to none.

Now assume color printers have their own unique set of color rendering issues. They do. And located before the monitor or printer is the camera itself. Do all cameras sense color and density exactly the same? Do all digital cameras have the same capabilities to capture a scene? Nope.

Then there's the computer and the image editing software that makes up your iDarkroom. Two more chances for color matching problems.

Finally, add the most variable of the variables -- the photographer. Among these personal variables are eyes, age, sex, memory, mood, sense of humor, what you had for dinner last night and what side of the bed you got up on this morning. All of these factors, and many more, continually impact a photographer’s perception of the scene being shot and the resulting picture.

When I owned a professional processing lab, I had one professional photographer who was very loyal but also very demanding about the way his images were printed. I paid particular attention to his work as it passed through the lab. Keeping George happy not only meant a steady flow of work, but also provided an excellent reference for other professionals considering my lab. I posted several prints that he had previously approved to use as guides as we printed his images.

On one occasion, he dropped off a wedding assignment for 50 8”x10” color prints. He needed the prints in 3 days. No problem. I reviewed each print as it was being processed to ensure the prints matched his normal taste and technical requirements. The job was done by the end of the second day.

On the third day, George arrived early in the morning to pick up his job. From the time he entered the lab, George didn’t seem quite his usual self. I handed him his prints. He was not pleased, and proceeded to reject virtually every print for a multitude of reasons. He said he absolutely needed the completed job by the next day. I told him we would apply the corrections he had provided and have the prints ready by noon of the following day.

George arrived the next afternoon, and I gave him the prints for review. I watched nervously as he shuffled through the prints. His evaluation was glowing, “Excellent" he said, "Now this is just what I wanted. Did you see the difference when you were reprinting the order? I knew you could do better.”

So what did I do to ensure that his prints were correct and delivered on time? Nothing.

When George first reviewed his prints, it was obvious that he was not feeling well. I also knew the prints we had made were very good. After he left the lab, I repackaged the job and set it aside. The next day I presented him the same set of prints that he had rejected 24 hours earlier. Today, they looked fine.

As it turned out, I spoke with George’s wife a day or two after this episode. Sure enough. George had been ill and didn’t sleep well the night before coming to the lab. The combination of no sleep and reviewing the prints very early in the morning had altered his perception of what he was seeing. The next day he felt better, got a good night’s sleep and picked up his order in the afternoon. He had a completely different mental and physical perception of the prints he was evaluating. (By the way, I confessed to George about two years later when he was in a very festive mood.)

The point is: Photography is a magnet for variables, and the most unpredictable of these is the photographer.

Yet photographers continue to believe that purchasing expensive equipment will automatically result in pictures that are accurate reproductions of what they saw. The most important ramification of this logic is that if pictures are not accurate or of poor quality, it’s too often assumed the fault lies with the equipment and the manufacturer. The more likely truths are that:

• the photographer’s memory of the colors and densities that made up the image have been clouded by subjective or emotional realities of the event, or
• the photographer’s color management environment is entirely out of synch.

I can’t do much for the first possibility except to say, “Stay healthy and try to be as technically accurate as possible when taking photographs.” Know that there’s a difference between what you saw and what you thought you saw. The magic of digital photography is that if you capture a technically accurate exposure, the image you take can be digitally enhanced to come very close to what you thought you saw. The resulting photograph is your vision.

On the other hand, understanding the fundamentals of color management will greatly enhance your ability to produce a final print that matches your vision. As complicated as this may sound, the following posts will provide the color management basics most critical to your photography.

We'll begin with a look at the various color worlds (gamuts) that you must consider every time you enter the iDarkroom.

Part 1 - What's The Big Deal About Managing Color In Photography?

My many flights from Portland, Oregon to New York City are always too long, too cramped and a culinary nightmare. On a recent flight, I was pondering the nutritional value as well as the airline’s hefty investment in the bag of peanuts I was unceremoniously served, when a fellow airline victim noticed my camera bag wedged under the seat in front of me – leaving zero room for my size 12 feet. He asked if I was a photographer and said that photography was his passion and hobby. Our discussion soon came to the topic of color management. His first comment was, “What’s the big deal about color management? Color is color. It's all taken care of at the factory.”

Groping for a simple, practical answer, it occurred to me that we were sitting in the middle of the latest “Die Hard” movie. The plane’s cabin had been magically transformed into a movie theater with Bruce Willis performing for all of us on about 20 small LCD monitors hanging from the ceiling. (see picture below)

I pointed to the dozen or so monitors in front of us. Each monitor was identical. Each monitor was made by the same manufacturer. Each was showing the same movie from the same DVD on the same digital player at the front of the airplane. Yet no two monitors looked the same. One monitor had a magenta cast, another yellow, another green and so on until one monitor had actually lost all of its color and was displaying a black and white version of the movie. I said to my new photographer friend, “There’s the problem."

Color management is a very big deal if you're serious about photography. The next post will explain the problem demonstrated by my favorite airline in the picture above. The fact facing every iDarkroom technician (you) is that if color management issues are ignored, there is virtually NO WAY that the image on your monitor will ever match the print from your printer. These frustrations are surmountable. Creating that "comfort factor" is the goal of these color management posts.

So What's This All About?

Hub's iDarkroom is intended to be a safe haven for those beginning their photographic digital darkroom experience. You are entering a totally unique world. Whether your goal is to eventually pursue photography as a career, as a personal hobby or a creative outlet, the photographic community membership contains a cross section of virtually every culture, sex, religion, occupation, and interests. This diversity is seen in the wealth of innovative and expressive images captured everyday.

Regardless of each individual's photographic aspirations, the community shares at least one common goal: to make that perfect print. Making a print that matches what you saw, or what you thought you saw, is work. It's true that the digital darkroom gives us more flexibility and a whole new toolkit. However, it doesn't eliminate work or the need for understanding. The more a photographer understands and the harder he/she works at the craft the more rewarding each final picture becomes.

That's the end of my soapboxing.

I congratulate you on taking the step to expand your digital photography expertise to include the digital darkroom (computer image editing, printing and finishing). Photography and the digital darkroom are my passions, and I look forward to sharing the "goods and bads" that I've learned throughout my career.

This digital darkroom series of discussions will start with the most complex but most fundamental topic associated with digital imaging success -- Color Management. It's a hot topic at any gathering of photographers. It's also the single issue that is guaranteed to stop you dead in your creative tracks unless you take the time to learn the basics. My next post will begin this topic to lay a solid foundation for success in your own iDarkoom.

A final note: I am not promoting any company or product. I have worked at Hewlett Packard, but I will not try to influence your printer or computer selection. (I'm a Mac person anyway.) I have been the Director of the Time-Life Photo Lab at Time Inc., but I will not ask you to subscribe to Sports Illustrated. And, I have been Photo and Graphic Arts Director at Caterpillar Inc., but I will not try to sell you a D10 bulldozer. If I make mention of a product, it is an attempt to make a point using a product that is an industry standard (i.e. Adobe's Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.) or that I have the most experience using (in many cases HP pro photo printers). Wherever possible, I will balance my explanation with instructions for competing products. My content is free for your personal use and photographic understanding.

If you have just purchased your first DSLR, you might want to check my other photo-centric blog, Hubbard's Camera, at www.hubbardcamera.com. This site is also targeted towards anyone beginning their photographic adventure.

NEXT UP: Color Management in the iDarkroom Age

Your comments are welcome and encouraged. After all, this site is supposed to be about you.