Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:23 pm
Hi Mike,
I recant my previous suggestion about incorporating RGBW into CM4 - I've a much more exciting idea!
When users select the RGB radio button in CM, CurveMeister currently uses the working space selected in Photoshop's Color Settings window. Within CM there is no way to assign a different RGB color profile. This is where things could get really interesting ;)...
Take a look at the image that I have attached to this post*. The image shows four different looks; none of them were corrected. The different versions were created by assigning different RGB color profiles to the file - beyond that they are untouched.
In my own workflow I like to deliberately assign different profiles to images I work on: false profiles that I have created with odd gamma settings, or profiles with different gamuts, to change image saturation.
The profiles that I used in the example I have attached were created by photographer Joseph Holmes (www.josephholmes.com/propages/AboutRGBSpaces.html). They have been designed to better encompass the range of colours that photographs are likely to contain (there are several variants depending upon the subject matter that particular photographers like to shoot). Additionally, Holmes creates - for each variant - profiles that manipulate the chroma of the image (that is what the -52 and +52 values mean on my image). These profiles then allow you to alter saturation without shifting hue.
Over the course of CM 101 I have been rereading Professional Photoshop v5, and one point that DM made really struck me. Because the dE between colour values in large gamut working spaces (like ProPhoto RGB) is larger than smaller gamut spaces, small gamut spaces are easier to curve, because they are more tolerant of curve moves. Margulis uses neutrals as an example: in sRGB if RGB values are not identical (but are within a couple of points of one another) no one will notice; in ProPhoto RGB (and Adobe RGB), if these values are not identical people will notice.
Therefore what I would like to suggest is that CM4 allows users to switch spaces within the app. The app could use its own profiles - you could create gamma and chroma variants for people to select. I've been thinking about the UI, and I think it would be nice to switch between variants with a slider (the brightness slider in the Wizard could actually switch between gamma variant profiles). If somebody is struggling with a curve that is difficult to fine-tune, it would be great for them to be able to jump into a smaller gamut space, so that they can gain greater control of the adjustment points.
I'm sure that doing something like this from scratch would be a huge amount of work. I was thinking that perhaps you ought to talk with Joseph...
The payoff is that quality is boosted by an astonishing amount - and the UI allows users greater control over their curves. In addition to zooming the curve panel, allowing corner points, and exposing the existing bezier handles to the user for direct manipulation, this will make us all feel like heart surgeons!
I know that you can't make promises - but please at least let me know what you think of Joseph's profiles won't you ;)
All the best,
Lee.
*The image is by Hans F. Meier, and was purchased from iStockPhoto - http://bit.ly/coX2Qj
I recant my previous suggestion about incorporating RGBW into CM4 - I've a much more exciting idea!
When users select the RGB radio button in CM, CurveMeister currently uses the working space selected in Photoshop's Color Settings window. Within CM there is no way to assign a different RGB color profile. This is where things could get really interesting ;)...
Take a look at the image that I have attached to this post*. The image shows four different looks; none of them were corrected. The different versions were created by assigning different RGB color profiles to the file - beyond that they are untouched.
In my own workflow I like to deliberately assign different profiles to images I work on: false profiles that I have created with odd gamma settings, or profiles with different gamuts, to change image saturation.
The profiles that I used in the example I have attached were created by photographer Joseph Holmes (www.josephholmes.com/propages/AboutRGBSpaces.html). They have been designed to better encompass the range of colours that photographs are likely to contain (there are several variants depending upon the subject matter that particular photographers like to shoot). Additionally, Holmes creates - for each variant - profiles that manipulate the chroma of the image (that is what the -52 and +52 values mean on my image). These profiles then allow you to alter saturation without shifting hue.
Over the course of CM 101 I have been rereading Professional Photoshop v5, and one point that DM made really struck me. Because the dE between colour values in large gamut working spaces (like ProPhoto RGB) is larger than smaller gamut spaces, small gamut spaces are easier to curve, because they are more tolerant of curve moves. Margulis uses neutrals as an example: in sRGB if RGB values are not identical (but are within a couple of points of one another) no one will notice; in ProPhoto RGB (and Adobe RGB), if these values are not identical people will notice.
Therefore what I would like to suggest is that CM4 allows users to switch spaces within the app. The app could use its own profiles - you could create gamma and chroma variants for people to select. I've been thinking about the UI, and I think it would be nice to switch between variants with a slider (the brightness slider in the Wizard could actually switch between gamma variant profiles). If somebody is struggling with a curve that is difficult to fine-tune, it would be great for them to be able to jump into a smaller gamut space, so that they can gain greater control of the adjustment points.
I'm sure that doing something like this from scratch would be a huge amount of work. I was thinking that perhaps you ought to talk with Joseph...
The payoff is that quality is boosted by an astonishing amount - and the UI allows users greater control over their curves. In addition to zooming the curve panel, allowing corner points, and exposing the existing bezier handles to the user for direct manipulation, this will make us all feel like heart surgeons!
I know that you can't make promises - but please at least let me know what you think of Joseph's profiles won't you ;)
All the best,
Lee.
*The image is by Hans F. Meier, and was purchased from iStockPhoto - http://bit.ly/coX2Qj