Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 2/12/2008

Question
Hi there... I shoot on a Canon Mark II in RAW format, and I then process my images down to JPEGs in the Capture One program. The problem is, when I open the images in photoshop, I'm prompted to either convert the color profile to the desktop or dump it. When I choose to convert the color profile to the working space, it works fine. But when I change the images to targas (I retouch in this format and then change back to JPEGs for the web), it dumps the color profile and I lose the richness and color of my originals, and can't seem to get it back through color correction. How do I keep my color profile and still be able to convert to targas for retouching? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Holly,

First, what version of Photoshop are you using?

You should be converting these in Photoshop using the Camera Raw Converter. It does a much more professional job that Capture One.

Also why are you working in a TARGA format and not keeping these as a native Photoshop File?  That is a very old format and is only recommended (barely is more like it) when your hardware utilizes a TrueVision Graphics Card. If you do not have that, you are wasting a lot of time by converting into that format. Anything you can do in Targa, you can do as a .psd file and save yourself a lot of headaches.

When I work with photography here is my workflow:

Open the camera raw in the PS Camera Raw Converter. Adjust the colors accordingly.

Transfer into Photoshop and save as a .psd file.

Do any corrections or retouching and keep it as a .psd unless I need to send it to someone else as a .jpg (Highest quality).

Hope this helps!

Kevin