Rgb photography definition

Why Does RGB vs CMYK Matter When Printing Photos?

Do you ever wonder why your images look a bit different when you print them? Then it’s time to learn about RGB vs CMYK.

You can use them to get accurate tones when you switch from your computer screen to paper. So let’s see the differences between these two color models.

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Why is Getting Familiar with RGB vs CMYK Crucial?

Colors may be everywhere. But they manifest in different ways.

Some objects emit light, while others reflect them. So it only makes sense that colors manifest differently on various materials… Don’t be surprised if a printed photo looks different from what you see on your computer screen.

We use color models to explain the behavior of light on different materials. The most common ones are RGB and CMYK.

RGB: The term is short for red, green, and blue. This color model defines how light-emitting objects, such as lightbulbs, behave. It’s an additive model. This means that when you combine light sources with these specific colors, you end up with white.
CMYK: It stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (a.k.a. black). This model defines how different colors of paint or ink interact with each other. It’s a subtractive model. This means that when you combine ink with the tones we mentioned, you end up with black.

RGB and CMYK also appear as color profiles on our computers. The goal of using color profiles is to ensure that tones remain accurate as we print our digital files. It’s crucial that what you see on the screen matches what you see on the paper.

Most photo editing software, such as Photoshop, have CMYK and RGB color profiles. They are for digital and print work, respectively. You must know what medium you want to use to display your images. This way, you can use the best option to ensure accurate results.

RGB

If you look at a digital screen, you find it consists of red, green, and blue dots. To display specific tones and hues, each dot varies its light output. This lets them achieve the color they need to create.

RGB dots light up brightly on your screen to create white. For black, they don’t light up at all.

Your screen uses certain combinations of red, green, and blue to display other colors. For instance, red and blue light up to create magenta. But green doesn’t.

All digital screens use RGB. But there’s a wide variety of display types that produce inconsistency in colors… from AMOLEDs to LCDs:

AMOLED: These are like tiny light bulbs that emit light.
LCD: These don’t produce light by themselves. So they need a white backlight to display color.

Both systems have pros and cons. For instance, AMOLEDs create more vivid tones. But LCDs are much more capable of displaying whites.

You can often find AMOLED technology on television and phone screens. Meanwhile, LCDs are more common in laptop displays and monitors like the Acer SB220Q.

In the image below, you can see a phone and a laptop displaying the same photo. The computer has an LCD screen. The phone has an AMOLED screen. As you can see, they both show colors slightly differently.

To ensure your screens display accurate colors, you need to calibrate them.

Buying a screen with 100 % sRGB coverage would also help greatly. In other words, it should be able to display the entire spectrum of colors possible with RGB.

And if you plan to print your work regularly, you need to get a high-gamut display, too. These are capable of properly displaying colors of images that will later go to print.

Read our article about the best monitors for photographers to learn more!

CMYK

People often use CMYK for print material. The ink colors cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (black) are used to create different colors.

If you look at a printer, like the HP ENVY 6055, you see it uses CYMK ink cartridges. CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow) is often in one cartridge, and K (black) is in another.

In some ways, CMYK works much like RGB. It also uses specific combinations of primary colors to create thousands of tones. But since CMYK is used for prints, its process of creating colors is slightly different.

Theoretically, a combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow creates black. (This is like how a combination of RGB creates white. ) But to save all that ink, it’s much better to use “key” (black) instead. And CMYK cannot produce white. So printers use the white on paper to display that specific color.

Displaying colors using CMYK is also different from RGB. Instead of using dots, it often lays one layer of ink on top of another to produce various tones.

But to create other colors, the same concept that RGB uses applies. For instance, a combination of cyan and magenta produces blue. Meanwhile, yellow and cyan make green.

Like RGB screens, various printing processes also vary in how they apply CMYK. Different options include offset printing to digital printing.

Photoshop sometimes includes CMYK profiles that apply to specific commercial printers… Are you working with professional print labs? If so, it’s best to ask the technicians what particular type of profile they use.

When Should You Use RGB or CMYK?

RGB is the default color profile for displaying digital images. So if you don’t plan to print your files, there’s no reason to switch to other options.

But you need to use CMYK if you want to publish your work. If you don’t, you end up with inaccurate colors.

How Do You Convert RGB to CMYK?

Are you working with a digital image? Its color profile is likely RGB by default.

To confirm that your file uses RGB, go to Photoshop’s Image tab. Once the dropdown menu appears, go to Mode.

Then look at the checked profile. That’s how you know if your image uses either RGB or CMYK.

You already know that RGB is perfect for displaying images on screens. But what should you do if you need to print your image?

If that’s the case, then you’ll need to convert it. To convert your RGB file, go to Edit > Convert to Profile.

Now look for the Destination Space and click on that field.

As you can see, plenty of color profile options are available for you.

In most cases, choosing Working CMYK U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 is the best default option. It works with regular office and home printers.

Are you working with a professional print lab? Again, asking them what type of CMYK profile they use would be best. That way, you can guarantee you get accurate colors.

Now, let’s check out the difference between RGB and CMYK. Here’s an image below using an RGB profile.

And here’s an image below using a CMYK profile.

The color variation may be so subtle you can barely see it. But CMYK looks a bit duller than the RGB version.

If you’re using your image for print, this is acceptable. But if you intend to publish it online, the small changes could affect the overall quality of your image.

Check out our post about color management to learn more about color profiles. (It includes the greyscale method for black and white photography!)

Conclusion

If you intend to print a lot of your work, you must pay attention to RGB and CMYK profiles. This way, you don’t end up with crazy tones when you publish your photos in a magazine.

But if you want to keep your work on your computer, there is no reason to convert your files to CMYK. RGB is the ideal profile for that purpose. And it’s the default setting for your images, anyway.

Even if you haven’t printed any of your work before, remember what you learned about RGB vs CMYK. You never know when you’ll need it. And your knowledge makes all the difference between a good print and a bad one.

Do you want great tips on how to edit your photos for stunning prints? Check out our course on Effortless Editing with Lightroom!

Canon PIXMA G620 All-in-One Printer

This all-in-one printer is perfect for creating stunning prints with accurate color reproduction, making it ideal for any graphic design project.

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Canon PIXMA G620 MegaTank: Print, Copy, Scan

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What does RGB stand for and how does it work in photography? – COLBOR

What does RGB stand for and how does it work in photography? – COLBOR Skip to content

By COLBOR LIGHT August 06, 2021

“What does RGB stand for? What is RGB used for?” Such questions are now more frequently asked since RGB has been more and more widely used in illuminated devices such as lights and screens of electronic products. In this article, we would like to have it explained and show you one of its specific applications in photography which probably is a field each of us ordinary people is somehow familiar with.

RGB definition

RGB is specified with 3 primary colors - Red, Green and Blue. The intensity of the red, green and blue colors is described as an integral number among 0 to 255. Simply combining the different intensities of these 3 colors to form multiple parameters (red, green, blue) to specify colors on the spectrum that human eyes can see.

Picture: RGB effect on portrait work

For instance,

(0, 255, 0) is rendered as green;
(255, 0, 0) is rendered as red;
(0, 0, 255) is rendered as blue.

If the three colors are set at highest intensity, (255, 255, 255), then white is rendered. If set at the lowest intensity, (0, 0, 0), at this time black is rendered.

What is RGB LED?

For a long time, photographers have been applying gels and filters to lights source to add some colors while reserving high output of the light. It is a rather straightforward and fairly inexpensive method, but lacking the consistency of output and color accuracy. Gradually, some people find it important during workplace that color adjustment to be faster and more accurate than this traditional method, as RGB LED can do.

After knowing what does RGB stand for, RGB LED should be easy to understand. It means red, blue and green LEDs combining in multiple collocation to produce different hues of light. RGB LEDs can adjust the color saturation and hue cleverly right at the source to maintain proper color balance between LED lights, camera and existing or ambient light for natural looking results.

Using RGB lighting creates more inspirations while finding the little spark that went missing when traditional methods have been used only. So, let’s talk about how RGB LED is used in portrait work when pursuing for the missing spark.

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1. To change the background color

Instead of preparing unattractive background boards which would take up certain room, making the RGB LED lights emit on a white background can easily satisfy the need for multiple color backgrounds. Besides, unequal lighting can be avoided by practicing positioning as well as resorting to modifiers according to the size and distribution of lights. Moreover, some RGB lights provide circulation among various colors at specific speed, namely, more choices are optional for photo backgrounds.

2. To apply colors on subjects

It happens that, even if the particular color setting can make one person look better, it does not perform the same effect on others. In this case, mixing and matching colors then applying them on the subjects as necessary, no matter a person or an object, is a good way to shape more specific and unique details.

3. To add lights into the scene

During production, additional lights are used other than natural light source and some may wonder, where this peculiar light comes from? So why not try to capture the actual lighting into the frame for a fresh sparkle in creation? Try to lead the viewers into the scene that has been created and show them how it is created in a lively and vivid way.

How to use RGB lighting for photos and videos?

Unlike the traditional gels and filters, RGB video light can be programmed to be any colors or any lighting effects, such as the simulation of street lights or candles and flames. As the RGB lighting becomes more common, its price has been cut down while its capability has been discovered. It is up to the users on how to make the best use of it to achieve satisfying results.

Let’s imagine,

To render the sense of future for science fiction, try to make subjects light up from the inside or around the edges;
Looking for the colors that are surreal or bizarre? Then the popular lighting of bright and unnatural mood should be considered...

If the current lighting situation does not give specific effect, just think outside the box on how to combine the RGB LEDs for creation.

Tips for video lighting setup

In order to maintain balance and distribution of light for a video production of high quality, there is one basic setup of video light called, three-point lighting setup. It properly distinguishes the main subject from background for sharp features and outlines.

Also, there are few things which should be notice for further perfection on the setup of studio color light:

Control and diffuse the harsh lights with barn doors of the soft box to mitigate the hardness;
Properly adjust the color temperature for accurate and natural colors in accordance with current lighting conditions;
Reduce reflections and glares by increasing light output size or raising the height for key light;
Additional setup for lighting consistency are required when dealing with natural light.

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RGB - what is it? How RGB works - Photo7.

If you're into photo or video editing, if you're using a gaming computer, TV or camera, you can't help but encounter the term RGB.

Want to know what RGB stands for, what it's used for, or why you hear about RGB so often when it comes to computers, gadgets, or displays? Here you will learn what RGB is, where and why it is more commonly used.

What RGB stands for

RGB is short for Red Green Blue. And, you guessed it, it refers to the color and its composition. Why red, green and blue, you may ask? The answer is that red, green and blue are the primary colors that you can combine in varying amounts to get any other color in the visible spectrum that the human eye can see. nine0003

RGB is an additive color model. In other words, to get other colors, you mix the primary colors red, green, and blue. If you mix all three colors at maximum intensity (100%), you will get white. On the other hand, if you mix them all at the lowest intensity (0%), you will end up with black.

RGB color model

In other words, mixing 100% brightness of red, green, and blue will give you light, and if you mix 0% of red, green, and blue, you will get darkness. nine0003

RGB can also be seen as the opposite of CMY, which stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow". Why vice versa? Because CMY as a color model is the opposite of RGB: combining cyan, magenta and yellow at a maximum intensity of 100% gives you black, and a minimum intensity of 0% gives you white.

CMY color model

How to use RGB

Primarily, the RGB color model is used in devices that use color. Because it is an additive color model that produces lighter colors when the three primary mixed colors (red, green, blue) are more saturated, RGB is best suited for displaying a radiant image. In other words, the RGB color model is best suited for backlit screens such as TVs, computer monitors, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. nine0003

By comparison, CMYK, which stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Key (Black)" and is derived from CMY, is a reflective color model, meaning its colors are reflected rather than illuminated, and is used primarily in print. That's why when you calibrate a printer, you work with CMY color space, and when you calibrate a computer display, you work with RGB.

Printers use the CMYK color model

In addition to televisions and other electronic displays, the RGB color model is also used in other devices that work with backlit colors, such as cameras, camcorders or scanners. nine0003

For example, LCD screens are made up of many pixels that form their surface. Each of these pixels is usually made up of three different light sources, and each one can turn red, green, or blue. If you look closely at an LCD screen using a magnifying glass, you will see these little light sources that form pixels.

However, when you look at it like a normal person, without a magnifying glass, you only see the colors emitted by these tiny pixel light sources. By combining red, green and blue and adjusting their brightness, pixels can create any color. nine0003

RGB pixel sources on screen

RGB is also the most widely used color model in software. To be able to specify a specific color, the RGB color model is described by three numbers, each representing the intensity of red, green, and blue.

However, the ranges of the three numbers may differ depending on which number system you use. Standard RGB notations may use triplets of values from 0 to 255, some may use arithmetic values from 0.0 to 1.0, and some may use percentage values from 0% to 100%. nine0003

For example, if RGB colors are represented by 8 bits each, this would mean that the range of each color can vary from 0 to 255, 0 being the lowest color intensity and 255 being the highest. Using this notation, RGB(0, 0, 0) would mean black, and RGB(255, 255, 255) would mean white. Also, the purest red will be RGB(255, 0, 0), the purest green will be RGB(0, 255, 0), and the purest blue will be RGB(0, 0, 255).

8-bit RGB color representation, each color ranging from 0 to 255

The range of numbers from 0 to 255 is not chosen by chance: RGB is often represented in software with 8-bits per channel. If you're wondering why 255 is the maximum value in 8-bit terms, it's because each color is represented by 8 bits. A bit can have two values: 0 or 1. Two bits will have four values: 00, 01, 10, 11. (in binary.) Thus, eight bits will give 256 values - from 0 to 255. That is, two to the eighth power. Geeks, right? 🙂

However, other number systems are commonly used, such as 16 bits per channel or 24 bits per channel. For example, in a 16-bit system, each bit can take values from 0 to 65535, and in a 24-bit system, it can take values from 0 to 16777215. A 24-bit system covers 16 million colors, which is more than all the colors that are visible to the human eye. , which distinguishes 10 million.

RGB or CMYK color model for photo printing? Choosing the Right

If you've ever wondered why the colors in your photos look a little different when printed than on a monitor, it's time to learn more about RGB and CMYK. In this article, we will explain what are the differences between these two color models and how to choose between RGB or CMYK in order to get high-quality images when printing. nine0003

Don't be surprised if your printed photo looks different from the one you saw on your computer screen. Colors show up differently on different materials. Color models are used to explain the behavior of light on different materials. The most common models are RGB and CMYK.

RGB (Red - Red; Green - Green; Blue - Blue) is a color model that determines how light-emitting objects such as light bulbs behave. This model is additive: when you mix three primary colors, you get white. nine0062
CMYK is a model that defines how different colors of paint or ink interact with each other. The abbreviation stands for cyan (Cyan), magenta (Magenta), yellow (Yellow) and key (Key / Black - also known as black). This is a subtractive model, meaning that when you combine ink with the tones mentioned, you get black.

The purpose of using color models is to ensure tonal accuracy when printing digital files. It is very important that what you see on the screen matches what you see on paper. Most photo editing programs such as Photoshop have CMYK and RGB color models for digital and print work, respectively. You need to know what media you will be using to display your images in order to get the most accurate display. nine0003

RGB

If you look at a digital screen, you will find that it is made up of red, green, and blue dots. To display certain tones and shades, each dot changes its luminous flux to obtain the desired color. To create white, all RGB dots on the screen light up brightly. For black, they do not light up at all.

Certain combinations of red, green, and blue are used to display other colors on the screen. For example, red and blue glow to create magenta, but green does not. nine0003

All digital displays use RGB. But there are many types of displays, from AMOLEDs to LCDs, which create color inconsistencies.

AMOLEDs are like tiny light bulbs that emit light. Meanwhile, LCDs themselves do not emit light. Therefore, they require a white backlight to display color.

Both systems have their pros and cons. For example, AMOLED displays produce brighter tones. But at the same time, LCD displays are much better at displaying white. AMOLED technology is often found on TV screens and phones. Meanwhile, LCDs are more commonly used in laptop displays and monitors. nine0003

In the image below, you can see the color differences between the phone and laptop displaying the same photo. The computer has an LCD screen, the phone has an AMOLED screen.

The screen must be calibrated to display accurate colors. Buying a screen with 100% sRGB coverage will be a big help. In other words, it must be able to display the entire spectrum of RGB colors. And, if you plan on printing your work regularly, you'll also need a wide-gamut display. Such a screen can display the colors of images to be printed later. nine0003

CMYK

CMYK is often used for printing. If you look at your printer, you will see that it uses CMYK ink cartridges. Often CMY is in one cartridge and K (black) is in another.

In a way, CMYK works just like RGB. He uses certain combinations of primary colors to create thousands of tones. But since CMYK is used for printing, the process for creating colors is slightly different.

Theoretically, the combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow produces black, just as RGB produces white. But to save ink, it's much better to use the key color (black) instead. And since CMYK cannot reproduce white, printers use the white of the paper to display that particular color. nine0003

Color display using CMYK is also different from RGB. Instead of using dots, he often overlays one layer of ink on top of another to create different tones. To create other colors, the same concept is used as in RGB. For example, the combination of cyan and magenta produces blue. Meanwhile, yellow and blue create green.

Like RGB screens, different printing processes also differ in how CMYK is applied. Various options include offset printing to digital. Photoshop sometimes includes CMYK models that apply to certain commercial printers. nine0003

So, if you work with professional print labs, it's best to check with the technicians which model they are using.

When should I use RGB or CMYK?

RGB is the default color profile for displaying digital images. So if you don't plan on printing your shots, there's no reason to switch at all. However, you will need to use CMYK if you wish to publish your work. If you don't, you will end up with inaccurate colors. nine0003

How to convert RGB to CMYK?

If you are working with a digital image, then its color model is most likely RGB by default. To make sure your file is using RGB, you can go to the Image tab in Photoshop. When the drop-down menu appears, go to Mode and check which model is checked there.

If the image needs to be printed, you will need to convert its color model. To convert the RGB file, go to Edit. Then click Convert to Profile. nine0003

Now click on the Destination Space field.

As you can see, there are many color options available to you. In most cases, Working CMYK U.S. is the best default. Web Coated (SWOP) v2. It works with regular office and home printers.

As mentioned earlier, if you work in a professional print lab, it's best to check what type of CMYK model is used. This way you can ensure accurate colors. nine0003

Now let's see how RGB and CMYK differ.

Image using RGB profile

Image using CMYK profile

Color variations can be so subtle you barely notice them. But the CMYK version looks a bit more faded and dull than the RGB version. If you are using your image for printing, this is acceptable. But if you're going to publish it online, even small changes like this can affect the overall quality. This is again due to the larger color gamut of RGB compared to CMYK.