sRGB vs. Adobe RGB | Which Should You Use?

Trevor Dayley

One of the most frequently asked questions in photography is whether it is better to edit in sRGB or Adobe RGB. To answer this question, I’ll be giving you a few reasons as to why I think one of these is better than the other. These are just my opinions and what has worked for myself and my business.

sRGB vs. Adobe RGB Video

sRGB or Adobe RGB

There are three color spaces that are among the most popular: sRGB, Adobe RGB, and ProPhoto RGB. When you are in Lightroom and go to Export your image, under “File Settings” is where you can select you preferred color space.

srgb-or-adobe-rgb

Yes, selecting Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB will give you a larger portion of the color spectrum to work with but essentially, sRGB is the one color space that is the most applicable across a multitude of platforms.

I have personally used sRGB for the last five years, and many of the printers and monitors that I have come across are all using the sRGB color space. It would just be more difficult in managing color profiles that many people ultimately will not be able to see. In fact, many of your clients’ computers and the printers you send your images to do not have the capacity to read or print Adobe RGB.

In addition to monitors and printers, many browsers and social media platforms like Facebook will often warp the color profiles of your Adobe RGB images as they too are only able to read sRGB files. Simply shooting in sRGB would really help in eliminating any issues or potential issues you may have in terms of image color.

Conclusion

What do you color profile do you edit in and why? Comment below!

Thanks for watching! If you would like more information about how to increase your efficiency in Lightroom, check out our Lightroom Workshop where we show you everything from how to organize your images to mastering post production. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos, tutorials, and updates!

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