The DSLR Field Guide

Managing Color

Getting accurate color has always been an issue with photography, and never more so with digital photography. In a way this may seem a little strange, because film photography was just as affected by color temperature and other color differences in lighting.

With digital photography, however, it can be managed, and so must be. There are two sides to color management. One is linking the different ways in which the various devices in the workflow reproduce color, from camera to monitor to printer. The other is staying faithful to the colors of the subject.

First, color-managing the devices. This involves all of the equipment, not just the camera. Ultimately, it depends on a description of how a device reads and renders colors. These ...