78 DIGITAL CAMERA^ AUGUST 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
Learning Curves
Get to grips with the most powerful and versatile
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Curves in Photoshop
The Curves command in Photoshop is very
similar to the Tone Curve in Camera Raw
and Lightroom. However, there are a few
useful extras. First, the white and black
eyedroppers let you set clipping points,
while the midpoint eyedropper allows
you to correct colour casts by clicking
on a neutral point in the image like a grey
object or white wall. Underneath the graph
is another helpful feature: two sliders
that can also be used to set white and
black points. Hold Alt as you drag these
to check for clipping as you drag.
Curves in Photoshop can also be applied
as an Adjustment Layer, so you can use
all the benefits that layers bring, like
Blending Modes, masks and opacity.James
Paterson
With a decade as a writer
and photographer behind
him, James knows exactly
which Photoshop and
Lightroom tools and
techniques matter most.f all the tonal tools available
to you in Photoshop, Curves
is without doubt the most
powerful. In fact, it can do
most of the things that the
other tonal tools do: it can lighten, darken,
alter colours, set whites and blacks, boost
contrast, correct colour casts and more.
Curves might just be the ultimate tonal tool.
Unfortunately for some, there’s another
curve that gets in the way: the steep learning
curve. Curves can be difficult to grasp for the
uninitiated. You might even be tempted to
disregard the tool and return to the simpler
sliders and settings elsewhere. But anyone
who spends a little time experimenting will be
rewarded with a responsive, highly versatile
tool that offers a degree of finesse like no other.
The Curves command features in both
Photoshop and Camera Raw, as well as in
Lightroom. Here we’ll focus on the Tone
Curve tool that’s available in Camera Raw
and Lightroom, but almost everything we
discuss can translate to the equally useful
Curves command within Photoshop.
We’ll use the Tone Curve to lift our portrait,
boost the contrast and tweak the colours.
The key features of the Tone Curve command
are listed here, and you’ll find a full run-down
in the accompanying video.O
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