What is Adobe RGB Color Space?

AQCOLOR Monitor Resources Series

2024/05/21

Adobe RGB sRGB Color settings Photographer Monitor BenQ AQCOLOR Technology Color profiles

In the realm of photography, color accuracy on a monitor is crucial for replicating the real-life colors captured in images while viewing or editing them. In order to achieve this accurate replication, professional monitors have various color gamut’s, or color spaces, that they can produce or record. A commonly used color space is Adobe RGB, developed by Adobe Inc. in 1998. But what exactly is the Adobe RGB Color Space and why is an Adobe RGB monitor important for photographers? In this article we’ll answer these questions and provide some guidance for finding the right photography monitor for you.

What is Adobe RGB?

Professional photography monitors will often list the percentage of each color space they can produce. The higher a percentage of color space a monitor can represent, the more accurate the images will be. Most professional photography monitors can cover up to 99% of the Adobe RGB color space as it is one of the commonly used color spaces. Adobe created this color space so that consumers could use it in Photoshop with the new color management features they were releasing. Though there were some issues upon its initial release with the accurate representation of reds, it was standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and is used in HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface).

Adobe RGB utilizes the RGB (red, green, blue) primary colors on a computer display while encompassing most of the colors achievable on CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, key black) color printers. That means with Adobe RGB, the photos you edit on a monitor will be color accurate during the editing process and when printed. Each color, R, G, and B, have values ranging between 0 and 1, which reference the white point and black point that help Adobe RGB achieve color accuracy. As a larger color space, Adobe RGB covers richer cyans and greens, and expands to areas of more intense orange, yellow, and magenta, providing more colors to utilize.

Though Adobe RGB covers more colors, the range it covers does affect the bit depth, which is the number of bits in a pixel for each color. A larger range may “stretch” the bits while a smaller range may have more concentrated bits. When selecting color spaces, such as Adobe RGB vs sRGB, consider what colors your images need to reproduce and if you’ll be printing any images. Depending on the content you’re working on, having the ability to utilize both may be beneficial.

The image to the left is the Adobe RGB Color Space Graph. The Image to the right is a side-by-side example of sRGB vs Adobe RGB.

Why is Adobe RGB important for photographers?

For photographers, color is everything, and if you’re using a camera that has the Adobe RGB color space, you’ll need a monitor that matches the colors captured. From the scene captured on camera, to the editing process on the monitor, to the printed versions, maintaining color accuracy is a necessity and using the same color space throughout the process will help maintain those colors. Adobe RGB is important because it is available in multiple cameras and monitors, works specifically with Adobe Photoshop, and will represent accurate colors for printing. The wider range of colors provides better quality edits and is ideal for advanced photography projects or printed works. When looking for the best photography monitor, be sure to research what percentage of the Adobe RGB color space it covers.

What does BenQ have to offer?

At BenQ, we strive to reproduce accurate colors in every one of our professional photography monitors. AQCOLOR, a proprietary technology developed by BenQ, is built on meeting industrial standards, emphasizing display details, and providing an out-of-the-box guarantee. Monitor capabilities are backed by third-party qualifications such as a Pantone Validated Certificate and Calman certification. The goal is to create products that will deliver on the promise “Colors You Can Trust” and empower creative professionals in every aspect of their work.

Get the color accuracy you need with BenQ PhotoVue Monitors, backed by AQCOLOR technology and Paper Color Sync, guaranteeing color accuracy from screen to print. Additionally, SW and PD series purchasers and existing owners can get one FREE year of the new Pantone Connect Premium to bring the benefits of your smart device to your computer.