Sorry about taking so long to respond but more pressing issues ended up needing priority.
The color (ICC) profile that I've been using for my photos once I'm finished editing comes from the Elle Stones collection. Specifically the one named "sRGB-elle-V4-srgbtrc". The basic reason for this preference is that I use different photo editing software for processing the image files and this choice allows me to end up with one consistent profile for many different pictures irrespective of what software was used to do the developing/editing.
I take the example offered by rich2005 to be consistent with my intuition. That is to say "Assign" means to use the designated profile for the purpose of interpreting the data. In that, the data is NOT changed. On the other hand "Convert" means to make adjustments to the image data that reflect the difference between the current (assigned) profile and the designated new profile.
Most of my work developing/editing photos begins with raw files produced by my cameras. Raw files do contain color profiles as it seems they should. The experience to which this post pertains involves the editing with GIMP of jpg format image files that, I think, were produced by the camera. They contain no metadata that defines a color (ICC) profile. The metadata does designate a "Color Space" as "sRGB". Might this mean that when GIMP opened those image files it "Assigned" the standard "GIMP built in sRGB" profile? Most of the files I open with GIMP include color profiles and GIMP always asks if I want to keep that one or "Convert" to the standard "GIMP built in sRGB" profile. There was no ask in this case.
I think that cameras generally, maybe always, use (i.e., knows about) color profiles. Why NOT include one of them when the camera produces an image file?
The color (ICC) profile that I've been using for my photos once I'm finished editing comes from the Elle Stones collection. Specifically the one named "sRGB-elle-V4-srgbtrc". The basic reason for this preference is that I use different photo editing software for processing the image files and this choice allows me to end up with one consistent profile for many different pictures irrespective of what software was used to do the developing/editing.
I take the example offered by rich2005 to be consistent with my intuition. That is to say "Assign" means to use the designated profile for the purpose of interpreting the data. In that, the data is NOT changed. On the other hand "Convert" means to make adjustments to the image data that reflect the difference between the current (assigned) profile and the designated new profile.
Most of my work developing/editing photos begins with raw files produced by my cameras. Raw files do contain color profiles as it seems they should. The experience to which this post pertains involves the editing with GIMP of jpg format image files that, I think, were produced by the camera. They contain no metadata that defines a color (ICC) profile. The metadata does designate a "Color Space" as "sRGB". Might this mean that when GIMP opened those image files it "Assigned" the standard "GIMP built in sRGB" profile? Most of the files I open with GIMP include color profiles and GIMP always asks if I want to keep that one or "Convert" to the standard "GIMP built in sRGB" profile. There was no ask in this case.
I think that cameras generally, maybe always, use (i.e., knows about) color profiles. Why NOT include one of them when the camera produces an image file?