Ric Kasnoff: I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss how Lightroom handles color management. Now Lightroom really simplifies color management in your photographic workflow. You really don't need to choose Color Settings or Color Profiles until you are ready to output the photos. To take advantage of Lightroom color management, you need to make sure you have a calibrated monitor so you are reviewing accurate color. You might want to see the Calibrate and Profile your Monitored links in Resources in the Appendix.

Generally, now this is according to the Lightroom docs, for RAW files, the Develop Module assumes a wide color space based on the color values of ProPhoto RGB. ProPhoto RGB encompasses the most colors that cameras can record. Lightroom assumes a gama value of approximately 2.2. The Library Module stores previews in Adobe RGB color space. These previews are also used when printing in Draft Mode. For rendered files such as TIFs, JPEGs and PSDs, Lightroom uses the images embedded Color Profile to display the image, histogram, and color values. If the image doesn't have a profile, Lightroom assumes the SRGB profile, and the image may not look as expected on your monitor.

Lightroom also automatically exports images in the slide show and Web Modules using the SRGB space, so that the colors look good on the majority of computer monitors, and on the web. Now Output Color Profiles, when you print a photo in Lightroom, you can choose to convert the colors to more closely match the color space of the printer, paper and ink you are using. If you have ICC profiles installed, this is where you would pick them. We will cover this in much more detail in the Printer chapter. Okay, housekeeping is done. We have set the preferences, configured the Catalog Settings, created an Identity Plate, and now we know a little but more about how Lightroom handles color management.