Curves Tutorial
The curves tool is a great thing to know, but many tutorials don't explain how to use them. Since I was one of those people that felt disoriented when I came across a tutorial with curves, I thought I'd help the curves-confused.
A. Curves are not included with Photoshop Elements. I cannot help you there if that's the only program you have. However, in PSP9 (which I use), they are in two places. Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Curves, and Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Curves. I also have PS CS2, but I don't use it very often. I'm sure it's in a similar location to PSP.
B. Curves are used mainly to add a touch of darkness or lightness to an image. I find they're incredibly handy when I have a dark photograph I need to lighten or if a photo is a touch too bright. The tool directs light in a constructive manner. You can also use them to change color tones of an image. Let me explain the tool and its four quadrants.
1. I have separated the grid into four quadrants by the blue lines. This image will come in handy in a second, so keep it for your reference.
2. Now, open up your desired image. The photograph I'm using is too dark, and I would like to "brighten it up" a bit. By the way, I tend to use an adjustment layer when working with curves. That way, I can change the opacity of my light layers, which is nice.
3. See how I took the black dot and moved it to the upper left corner? Placing the dot in quadrant II brightens up the midtones and highlights while keeping darker shadows.
4. Instead of placing the dot in the upper left, I placed it in the lower left in "quadrant III". What appears is a rather unnatural image with dark highlights, bright midtones, and dark shadows.
5. This time, I opened up the tool and placed the dot in the lower right/quadrant IV. This particular curve darkened up the entire image. If you have an image that is too-bright, placing the dot somewhere in this quandrant is beneficial.
6. Last but not least, the dot placed in the upper right/quadrant I. The image has moderately bright shadows and dark midtones and highlights.
If this was any help to you, please comment and let me know!
A. Curves are not included with Photoshop Elements. I cannot help you there if that's the only program you have. However, in PSP9 (which I use), they are in two places. Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Curves, and Adjust > Brightness and Contrast > Curves. I also have PS CS2, but I don't use it very often. I'm sure it's in a similar location to PSP.
B. Curves are used mainly to add a touch of darkness or lightness to an image. I find they're incredibly handy when I have a dark photograph I need to lighten or if a photo is a touch too bright. The tool directs light in a constructive manner. You can also use them to change color tones of an image. Let me explain the tool and its four quadrants.
1. I have separated the grid into four quadrants by the blue lines. This image will come in handy in a second, so keep it for your reference.
2. Now, open up your desired image. The photograph I'm using is too dark, and I would like to "brighten it up" a bit. By the way, I tend to use an adjustment layer when working with curves. That way, I can change the opacity of my light layers, which is nice.
3. See how I took the black dot and moved it to the upper left corner? Placing the dot in quadrant II brightens up the midtones and highlights while keeping darker shadows.
4. Instead of placing the dot in the upper left, I placed it in the lower left in "quadrant III". What appears is a rather unnatural image with dark highlights, bright midtones, and dark shadows.
5. This time, I opened up the tool and placed the dot in the lower right/quadrant IV. This particular curve darkened up the entire image. If you have an image that is too-bright, placing the dot somewhere in this quandrant is beneficial.
6. Last but not least, the dot placed in the upper right/quadrant I. The image has moderately bright shadows and dark midtones and highlights.
If this was any help to you, please comment and let me know!