What Is Lab Color Space and How to Use It

Lab Color Space

Lab color space is one of the three major color spaces used to describe color in the digital world. They are RGB, CMYK and Lab (see below). When you are using a color picker, you can choose a color in any of these three color spaces and each of these has its own benefits. Let’s look at them in more detail.

RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue. This is the most familiar color space. It is easy to understand, because it is used for computers and televisions and is the basis for all computer monitors. Each of these three colors can be individually changed and it is possible to create and control millions of colors by varying the intensity of each of these colors. RGB is a natural choice for printing, because the individual elements can be easily turned up or down to achieve specific results. However, it is not as efficient in creating subtle variations.

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black. Like RGB, this is a natural choice for printing. However, unlike RGB, the four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) are all mixed together. The CMYK color system is most suitable for offset lithography, where the four colors are combined in a single image.

Lab stands for Lightness, Aperature, Brightness. It was designed specifically for the graphic arts. A color in this color space is a combination of all three of these. It includes the amount of lightness (or darkness), the amount of blue (which is known as the blue/yellow balance) and the amount of red (which is called the green/red balance). This means that you can get different shades of a color, depending on the degree of lightness and the degree of red or blue. For instance, a yellow tone could be created by increasing the amount of red and decreasing the amount of lightness.

For many years, the RGB color space was the dominant form of digital color. However, since the mid-1990s, it has been displaced by the more sophisticated Lab color space. Both CMYK and Lab color spaces can be used with a color picker, but for many purposes, Lab is the preferred one.

Here’s a practical example of using the Lab color space.

1. Select a specific color in the color picker and then click on ‘lab’. You can now make slight changes to the red, green and blue components of the color. As you move the sliders, the Lab color space will automatically adapt to the change. It is important to remember that any adjustments you make will affect the other two components.

2. The red, green and blue values are the same as those you would see in a print. However, in a photograph, the green component will appear brighter than the blue. If you need to make the green component brighter, just move the blue slider. The same applies to the red component, if you need to make the red component brighter.

3. If you want to make the whole color appear brighter, it is better to use the ‘whiten’ slider in the ‘brightness’ section of the Lab color space.

4. Another way of changing a color in Lab is to increase the lightness (whiteness) by moving the white slider towards the top.

Lab color space has become the new standard for color in the digital world. It has a number of advantages over the RGB color space:

• It is more efficient, because you don’t need to mix three colors together to get a new one.

• There are fewer limitations. You can change the amount of red or blue independently, and there are no restrictions on the maximum and minimum values.

• It is more versatile. It’s easier to find a specific shade of a color, such as a pale or dark orange.

• It’s easier to create custom colors by combining specific amounts of red, blue and green.

There are, however, disadvantages:

• It is more difficult to use the RGB color space, as you need to make specific adjustments to the individual colors.

• It’s less intuitive to use, as you don’t get immediate feedback as you do with RGB.

• It’s not as easy to make adjustments on a computer, as you can’t easily zoom into the color space.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using the color picker in Lab color space.

1. Select a specific color in the color picker and then click on ‘Lab’. You can now make slight adjustments to the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black components of the color. As you move the sliders, the Lab color space will automatically adapt to the change. It is important to remember that any adjustments you make will affect the other two components.

2. In the ‘cyan’ section, move the cyan slider to the right. The result will be that the color becomes lighter. This is the same principle as when you use the whitening slider in the RGB color space.

3. If you want to make the whole color lighter, it is better to use the ‘whiten’ slider in the ‘brightness’ section of the Lab color space.

4. Similarly, you can use the magenta slider to make the color darker. If you want to make the whole color darker, it is better to use the ‘blacken’ slider in the ‘blackness’ section.

5. It’s possible to create custom colors by combining specific amounts of cyan, magenta and yellow. To do this, use the ‘custom’ function in the ‘cyan’, ‘magenta’ and ‘yellow’.

How to Use Lab Color Space in Photoshop

Lab Color space (LCHS) is the standard color space used for many professional photographers. In order to use this space, you must first create an LAB file.

If you want to create an LAB file from a raw image, you can do it in Lightroom (the standard program Adobe offers), but you can also do it in Photoshop.

There are two ways to do it:

1\) Open the RAW file directly in Photoshop. Choose File → Create → Convert to LAB, then choose Color.

2\) Load the RAW file into Lightroom. Click on the “File” tab and select “New Develop Settings…” Choose the “Photoshop” preset, then click on the “Advanced” tab and choose “Convert to LAB.”

A new document opens in the same program as the RAW file and you can continue editing the image as usual.

The “Color” settings for the LAB file are similar to those used for the RAW file. They are:

– RGB: Red, Green, Blue

– CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

– Lab: Red, Green, Blue

You can add a small “Label” to the file and set it to LAB.