Colin White                                         Photography and Digital Imaging


Photography in the Cultural Heritage Sector

A powerpoint presentation outlining how to implement colour management.

Colour Management

Colour management is a term used to describe the process used to ensure consistency through image capture (cameras and scanners) and output (monitors and printers) in the photographic process.

The type of photography undertaken will determine how you implement your colour management system. If you are trying to reproduce a work of art as accurately as possible then the entire capture to output chain requires management to ensure the integrity of the reproduction. This will mean the use of colour callibration charts during capture (see top image), the production of colour profiles to be applied to the image, callibrated monitors to ensure the image appears correct and fully profiled printers for the ink and paper stock used.

For more creative photography, such as this false coloured image of the Chrysler Building (bottom image), the capture has less need of a properly colour managed system. What I am interested in (as the photographer) is the reproduction of the image. Because I want the reproduction to be as accurate as possible it is important that your monitor is callibrated and that any printer is fully profiled for the ink and paper stock used.

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