If the profile used by the program is linear, the displayed image is typically less vibrant, but (and this is important) it also better represents the actual data in the RAW file. A linear (straight-line) profile, as shown by the black line in the figure, could also be used. However, a profile does NOT have to be curved.
Since the profile is the initial interpretation of the camera RAW data, there are valid reasons to choose one that brings the image to an “attractive” point where the adjustments in Lr/Cr can be used to refine the final result. The resultant displayed image looks “familiar” with good brightness and contrast. Note how the red tone curve brightens essentially all pixel values while increasing shadow contrast (steeper curve) and decreasing highlight contrast (less steep curve). Its shape is typical of commonly used profiles. The red curve in this figure is the Adobe Standard profile. Curves with this general shape convert the dull, flat output from a digital camera to a brighter displayed image that more closely resembles how we see things. This bowed profile was selected long ago for practical reasons. The conventional profile is non-linear (not a straight line), as shown by the red curve in the attached figure. The linear profile is simply a set of instructions that tells Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, or other RAW processing software how to display the data from a RAW file captured by a digital camera. The Lr/Cr-ready profiles available there will make it easy for photographers explore the use of linear profiles and determine their potential as a creative tool. The discussion below is partly from the linear profile repository page on my website where there are free downloads of linear profiles for various cameras. Yes, I still use luminosity masks and other techniques in Photoshop, but I’m starting with a better conversion and so have less to do to finish the image.
While some don’t find them all that different than the standard Adobe Raw profiles (like Adobe Standard, Adobe Color, or Adobe Landscape), others have described the experience of using linear profiles as “not fighting the sliders anymore” and “the sliders seem better calibrated.” Using a linear profile offers a subtle shift in the RAW file conversion process that’s helping me take my images further in Lr/Cr before switching over to Photoshop. I’ve shared the technique with a few other photographers. Linear profiles work in Lightroom (Lr) the same way as in Camera Raw (Cr). The linear profile seems to have made Camera Raw more responsive to my edits. Several months ago I switched to using a linear profile as my starting point for RAW file conversions in Camera Raw.
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