sRGB and colour profiles
sRGB is the standard colour space for screens and the web; a colour profile embedded in a photo tells software how to display its colours correctly.
A colour space defines the range of colours an image can hold. sRGB is the standard for most screens, web browsers and phones, and it's what galleries and social platforms expect. Adobe RGB and Display P3 are wider, holding more saturated colours. A photo's embedded colour profile tells software which space its numbers mean.
If software ignores or misreads the profile, colours look dull or oversaturated.
How it works
Cameras let you choose sRGB or Adobe RGB for JPEGs (and HEIF). The choice is baked into the JPEG; a RAW file has no colour space until it's processed. When an Adobe RGB JPEG is shown by software that assumes sRGB, colours look flat. Converting to sRGB for delivery avoids this. Some cameras signal Adobe RGB with an underscore at the start of the file name.
An example: a gallery that looks washed out
A photographer sets the camera to Adobe RGB for print work, then delivers the JPEGs straight to an online gallery. Clients on phones see muted colours. Switching the camera to sRGB for the next event's live JPEGs fixes it.
Colour and CloudTether
At full size, CloudTether delivers the JPEG your camera wrote, colour space and all, so set it at the source: sRGB for live galleries, client previews and social. Pic-Time, for example, recommends sRGB — see Pic-Time. Keep RAW for print and wide-gamut work, delivered to storage destinations. For smaller client copies, see resized delivery.
Displays and calibration
Even a correct sRGB file looks different on an uncalibrated screen. For critical colour, calibrate your monitor; for clients on phones, sRGB is the best you can control.
Tips and common mistakes
- Use sRGB for JPEGs that go straight to clients or the web.
- Shoot RAW+JPEG if you need wide-gamut colour later.
- Check the camera's colour space setting after a firmware update or reset.
See also
Put it into practice
CloudTether tethers your camera to your phone and delivers every shot to the cloud, live as you shoot — no laptop.