Lab Color Space USA - Photography Terms & Glossary

Glossary Of Photography Terms [1]

Lab Color Space Lab color space, also known as CIELAB or Lab*, is a color model and color space used in digital imaging and color science to represent colors in a device-independent and perceptually uniform manner. Unlike other color spaces such as RGB and CMYK, which are based on additive or subtractive color models, Lab color space is based on human perception of color and is designed to be perceptually uniform, meaning that equal distances in Lab space correspond to equal perceptual differences in color.

Lab color space consists of three channels: L* (lightness), a* (green-red axis), and b* (blue-yellow axis), allowing for precise control and manipulation of color and tonal values. Lab color space is often used in color correction, color management, and color matching workflows, as it provides a standardized and device-independent representation of colors that can be accurately reproduced across different output devices, viewing conditions, and color gamuts.