Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) Practice Exam

In RGB color space, what does black represent?

1. Presence of all colors

2. Absence of any colors

3. Brightness of white

4. Maximum saturation

The correct answer is: Absence of any colors

In the RGB color space, black represents the absence of any colors. This means that when the values for red, green, and blue are all set to zero, the resulting color is black. RGB is an additive color model, which means that colors are produced by combining different intensities of red, green, and blue light. When all three colors are at their maximum intensity, the result is white, indicating the presence of all colors. Conversely, when there is no light emitted from any of the three color channels, it results in black, signifying the total lack of color. The other options are based on misunderstandings of how RGB works. The presence of all colors would yield white, while brightness of white refers to the maximum intensity of light rather than a specific color. Maximum saturation pertains to how vivid a color can be, which doesn’t directly relate to the concept of black.