ProPhoto

ProPhoto RGB is a wide-gamut RGB color space developed by Kodak for the Photo CD system and widely adopted in professional photography workflows. It is designed to preserve a broad range of colors during editing and color conversion, offering a larger gamut than sRGB or Adobe RGB 1998. The space is device-independent and is commonly used as a working color space in RAW processing, archival imaging, and professional printing. It is supported by major image editing programs through ICC profiles and color-management workflows.

In practice, photographers often edit in ProPhoto RGB at high bit depths (typically 16-bit per channel) to maximize tonal and color fidelity and to reduce the risk of clipping during adjustments. When final delivery is required, images are usually converted to a target space such as sRGB for web or a printer-specific ICC profile for printing. This approach helps maintain color integrity across devices and processes.

Caveats include the potential for colors that exist in ProPhoto RGB to be unrepresentable on many monitors or by standard printers. Because of its wide gamut, careful color management, calibration, and soft proofing are recommended to avoid unexpected shifts during conversion. 8-bit exports can also increase the risk of banding when working with a large color space.

See also: ICC color profiles, color management, sRGB, Adobe RGB, ProPhoto RGB workflow.