The Importance of Color Accuracy for Photographers

Color perception and identification is subjective, meaning everybody recognizes colors differently. In order to identify colors accurately for photographers, a quantified method must be utilized to ensure that the monitors and printers have accurate color display capabilities. This quantified method is known as Color Gamut, and by using it alongside Color Bit-Depth, Delta E values, and regulated monitor calibration standards, realistic colors are accurately displayed when viewed on your monitor or printed.

• What is Color Gamut?
• What is Color Bit-Depth and how does it affect photo editing?
• Why do colors of each monitor look different?

Color gamut refers to the range of colors that can be reproduced on a particular device. This range of colors was defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) in 1931 and is referred to as the CIE 1931 Color Space. It utilizes a coordinate system to convert the physical measure of visible light to a two-dimensional plane. In the diagram, pictured below, the entire color space sits within the shape of a horseshoe. The curved edge at the top is the spectral locus, and the wavelengths within are marked in nanometers, with the purple starting approximately 400mm from the left and the red starting red approximately 650mm to the right. These spaces represent the range that can be visualized by the human eye (the visible light spectrum) in the electromagnetic spectrum. The color gamut’s have three peaks, Red, Green, and Blue, and the well-known ones are sRGB (blue) and Adobe RGB (red). CMYK (yellow) is also represented but the color space is specific to the professional printing industry.

The CIE 1931 Color Space is the basis for all color spaces. sRGB, Adobe RGB, and CMYK are represented using the CIE 1931 XY-Chromaticity Diagram.

sRGB is the standard RGB color space used for monitors, printers, and the internet, defined by Microsoft and HP in 1996. Now, most of the monitors available on the market have gradually achieved 100% sRGB color space coverage capabilities, which allows everyday users to enjoy good visuals while streaming, working, or gaming. However, sRGB has approximately 35% less color range than Adobe RGB, and it cannot fully cover the CMYK color gamut used for professional printing. Photographers require the wide color range provided by Adobe RGB because the range of colors available directly affects reproduction, editing, and post-production capabilities.

Adobe RGB, which was developed by Adobe in 1998, has a wider color space and can fully cover the CMYK color gamut used in professional printing industry. Shown on the CIE 1931 XY-Chromaticity Diagram above, Adobe RGB has wider color gamut and reaches areas of the blue and green regions of the CMYK color gamut that sRGB is unable to cover. When photographers set the color space on both their cameras and monitors to Adobe RGB, they can match the colors much closer to the original scene during touch up. Also, when printing photos and images, there won’t be a huge difference between the colors previewed on the monitor and the colors seen on the hardcopy.

When photographers are researching monitors for professional work, they should consider monitors that support 99% Adobe RGB color gamut because it provides color ranges that closest match the colors captured in the photos.

Have you ever noticed when you were touching up dusk or sunset images, or images with gradient lights, that you could easily see the color discontinuation on the screen? This might be because the image is a compressed file format (JPEG) or because of the color bit-depth limits of the monitor. Color bit-depth refers to the maximum number of colors that a device can display. The larger the color bit-depth is, the richer colors will be, and the color transition and gradient performance will be more natural and continuous.

The images seen on monitors are composed of densely packed pixels, and each pixel is composed of the three primary colors: Red, Green and Blue. Most consumer monitors have a color bit-depth of 8, which means that the monitor can produce a total of 16.77 million colors. However, for professional monitors used by photographers and photo editors, a color bit-depth of at least 10 is needed because professionals mainly take and edit photos with 14-bit RAW files. A 10-bit monitor, or higher, will be able to display the fine colors and light gradient and help photographers clearly see the color differences during touchups.

While accurate color identification can be done with color gamut, identifying the level of difference between two colors can be quantified by the Delta E value (International Standard Color Difference). Delta E is calculated using mathematic formulas; the smaller the Delta E value, the smaller the color difference is.

Why is Delta E so important to photographers? Because it represents how accurate the colors can be on a monitor. A monitor with better color rendering capabilities allows the user to be satisfied by the results after the editing stage. The ideal Delta E value of a professional monitor is Delta E≦2 because it ensures that when photos are displayed on the monitor, the colors will be similar, if not the same, to the standard colors. Purchasing a professional-grade monitor with a factory calibration report ensures the monitor has already gone through rigorous testing and meets the calibration requirements for photographers. This delivers a color accuracy guarantee along with confidence in accurate color representation.

When selecting your professional-grade monitor for photography, researching the color standards for each branch and model is crucial. Each brand has different color standards, calibration settings, and panel types (TN, IPS, VA), and there may be slight deviations during mass production. The colors of every monitor will gradually shift as the usage time increases, so having a calibration tool is beneficial to maintaining quality and accurate color representation.

The BenQ PhotoVue Monitors for photographers, SW272U and SW272Q, come with a factory calibration report and have a hardware calibration feature. If a monitor does not meet the calibration standards, it will not be shipped and is sent for correction. This guarantees top quality with each purchase and full color accuracy for every photo and touchup. Find the best monitor for photo editing with the ideal color gamut, color bit-depth, and Delta E options.