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c h a p t e r 1: DIGITAL IMAGING BASICS, WORKFLOW, AND CALIBRATION ■
At this point, all you need to do is select: File > Export your camera name profile
and give the file a meaningful name (Figure 1.28). The DNG Profile Editor finds the
correct location for the profiles so that they can be used in ACR or Lightroom.
Figure 1.28 Save the complete camera prole from the File menu.
Note that to create the profile you opened two test images, one for 6500º K and
one for 2850º K, and you built individual tables for each. The RAW processing engine
that Adobe uses interpolates color values between (and beyond) these common color
temperatures to arrive at a correct interpretation of color in a wide range of different
lighting conditions.
Creating a Custom Lighting Profile
There is a third choice for building the color tables for a camera profile: both tables. If you select
both tables, the DNG Profile Editor will build both the 6500 and the 2850 table from whatever
single image is open. This is less than ideal for a general-purpose table, but it can be useful
for a specific lighting condition that might otherwise be problematic. For instance, you might
shoot a test target under stadium lighting conditions to build a more accurate color table for the
unusual sodium vapor lighting (and get a better color rendering for the athletic teams’ jerseys).
Of course, you would use this table to build a profile you would use only for this specific lighting
condition (more on using the profiles later).
X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
The X-Rite color calibration system utilizes a special version of the ColorChecker
target that comes in its own self-enclosed carrying case and includes some extra
warming-cooling white balance patches for portraits and landscapes (Figure 1.29).
I prefer to use a full size Gretag Macbeth ColorChecker for the exposure tests,
but this little target is very convenient for quick color calibration shots. Shoot the
target in the lighting you want to test, but simply aim for a good exposure—no need
to do more than a narrow bracket sequence—just to make sure you have a good expo-
sure with which to work. The ColorChecker Passport system comes as a stand-alone
application, as well as a plug-in for Lightroom, that almost completely automates the
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