Affinity Photo Rendering Intent

[pauldev]

In Preferences>Colour, there's a drop-down box for Rendering Intent. Is this where I should specify which one I want to use when a file which I worked on in ProPhoto is to be exported as sRGB?

 

Thanks.

[firstdefence]

Never thought about that setting but here is an interesting blog on the subject: https://blog.lexjet.com/2010/12/20/how-to-find-the-right-rendering-intent/

[pauldev]

Thanks, firstdefence. I do understand which rendering intent I want. I just want to make sure I'm setting it correctly when exporting. It's a bit confusing because setting it in Preferences>Colour suggests it's what you're specifying when opening a file.

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, pauldev said:

where I should specify which one I want to use when a file which I worked on in ProPhoto is to be exported as sRGB?

As you assumed correctly the application preferences influence the way files get set and appear when opened or created.

For export you choose the color space & profile in the export setting > "More". Depending on your selected file format you will get various offers and differently labeled menus to choose from.

[walt.farrell]

3 minutes ago, thomaso said:

For export you choose the color space & profile in the export setting > "More". Depending on your selected file format you will get various offers and differently labeled menus to choose from.

Yes, but none of them allow specification of rendering intent when you're changing the ICC Profile during Export. So, if the Color Preferences setting does not apply during Export, then it's simply something that can't be controlled.

[pauldev]

You beat me to it, Walt! That's exactly my concern.

[R C-R]

This is one of the (many!) things I wish I understood better about color management, particularly how to control it in AP. It does not help that essentially everything I have found uses Photoshop for its workflow examples. ☹️

That said, using the information from the Example color managed editing and printing workflow at https://www.drycreekphoto.com/icc/using_printer_profiles.htm as a starting point, it appears that a roughly comparable workflow for printer specific output would be to edit the original in a 'standard' color space & then make a duplicate to create the printer-specific version. Apply an AP soft proof filter to the duplicate with the desired ICC profile, rendering intent, & such (similar to the example's step 7), make any needed adjustments (similar to the example's steps 10-12), disable or delete the soft proof adjustment, convert the image to the appropriate profile (similar to the example's step 16), & save to the desired format (similar to the example's step 17).

Since both AP's Soft Proof filter & Document > Convert Format / ICC Profile have options for rendering intent, maybe this is intended to be the AP equivalent of the Photoshop workflow?

[pauldev]

Thanks all for your help. I think my best bet is to use Convert Format / ICC Profile to convert from ProPhoto to sRGB, applying the Rendering Intent, just before exporting.

[kirkt]

With working color spaces like sRGB and ProPhoto, conversions between them are always relative colorimetric (at least in PS).  Even in PS, where you can specify rendering intent, relative colorimetric is always used under conditions where you are converting from one working space to another.  Conversion from a working color space to an output device, like a printer, will provide rendering intent choices that will potentially make a difference in how the color data are remapped during conversion.

Kirk

[R C-R]

I am not sure if it is very relevant to this discussion but for visualizing the effects of different rendering intents & for some info about how much which one is used matters (which often is less than one might think), one of my favorite 'go to' sources is https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/color-space-conversion.htm. 

Parts 1 & 2 of the same tutorial are also worth reading.