Curves are a powerful tool: they speed up and increase the efficiency of the post-processing process like nothing else. Although for beginners, it may even be too powerful a tool. But there is no need to be afraid of him! Curves are not as complicated a tool as you might think.
In this lesson we will understand the main features Adjustment Layer - Curves (Curves Adjustment Layer) where does this functionality come from, and how to effectively use curves to local correction contrast in your photos.
First, before we start working with layers, we'll go over a little theory. Here's what we'll cover in this tutorial:
- How Tonality, Contrast and Curves Work
- How to “read” Tone Curves and Histograms correctly
- How to Use Checkpoints
- Order of operations
- How to Make Local Contrast Adjustments Using Curves
Are you ready? Then let's get started.
Part 1. Dynamic Range
When you create a new adjustment layer - curves Curves Adjustment Layer V Adobe Photoshop you get tone curves, histogram and a set of other options and buttons. What are they?
All About Dynamic Range
First, you should always remember: every digital image is a grid of tiny pixels.
Secondly, all pixels have size.
Dynamic range The image shows how many shades of gray from black to white are present in the image. In an 8-bit black and white image, such as the one you see below, each pixel has one (and only one) of 256 intensity values, or shades of gray. James Thomas recently did a review for us on different color models and I highly recommend you check it out if you want to learn more about what digital imaging is all about.
Histogram represents convenient option visualization. This is a very important picture about your picture: it tells you how many pixels have a certain shade of gray in the image. This quick way, get an idea about dynamic range your photo, without looking at the photo itself. Separating a photograph from its visual information is very useful, and we'll talk more about this below.
And if you don’t know how to do this yet, read previous publications of online Photoshop tutorials on our website.
ADVANTAGES OF WORKING IN ONLINE PHOTOSHOP
Firstly: For intermediate level (qualification) users, this is ideal option working with images. To work, you only need a computer connected to the Internet. You don’t need to install any programs on your computer, especially since they are expensive to purchase, and using pirated versions is dangerous and not recommended!
Secondly: For a user not privy to the intricacies of online Photoshop - this service offers educational articles and publications designed for a user who is not “burdened” with experience working with photo editors and image editors but who wants to gain minimal knowledge, which can only be developed later.
In this article we will talk about how to improve its quality using online Photoshop, increase its contrast, adjust the color scheme of the photo, etc. First, let's open it in the program online photoshon our prepared photo. To demonstrate an example, we took a photo of the painting (Stranger).
As can be seen, even from visual examination, in the photograph (picture) prevails yellow, and our stranger’s face is also yellowish, sickly, and faded. Now we will try to put the color scheme of the picture in order.
INCREASING THE BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST OF A PHOTO
Upload the photo to our online Photoshop online in Russian. You can take it to study the article. Save the photo on your computer and then upload it to the online editor. Opposite the layer name on the right in the panel layers, written - Background. To the right of the layer name you have a padlock. This protects the layer from editing. We need to double-click on the lock. It turned into a tick. The layer name has been renamed to layer0. 
The first thing we need is to duplicate the layer. Let me remind you that all actions are done similarly to offline Photoshop. Press - (Ctrl+J), and on the right in the layers panel, we see that a new layer has appeared (layers 0 copy). From now on, we will only work with this duplicated layer. To do this, we will rename it to experimental, for example ( mylayer).
We will edit the color scheme of the picture using levels. Therefore, go to the top menu and select Adjustments ->Levels...
In the online Photoshop window that opens, as Channel- first select Red and see something like the following. (picture on the left). We need, looking at our picture, to move the sliders on both sides (left and right) to the middle, that is, we need to remove the space where the red color is displayed, close to zero. We then perform the same operation for the green and blue layers.
By the way, in the green and blue layers, in the drop-down list "channel" space with "zero pixels" - larger than that 
red Then click OK to confirm the changes. Then you need to reduce it a little Opacity (Transparency) of the layer we edited.
This is done on the left in the panel Leyers, move the slider to the left and you will see how the value decreases and the display of the layer visually changes. You need to set the value to approximately 50. For some, this value may differ from ours.
Now compare the resulting photo of the painting, from the one that was before the color adjustment. This is what we got. (picture on the right) Even with the naked eye you can see that the colors in the picture have acquired vibrant shades and become more natural.
As an experiment change the blending mode in the layers panel to Soft Light. The picture became very contrasting and juicy. It might be worth lowering the contrast. To do this, change the transparency of the layer (in this case, I stopped at 70%). Well, how?! Did it work? Don't forget to experiment, and then eventually use photoshop program online - you will always get the desired result!!!
Richard
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Before we begin, let's define a few terms. It won't take long!
CONTRAST– a significant or noticeable difference, not necessarily quantifiable (from) Google.
STRONG CONTRAST– a huge difference that is noticeable when comparing two or more objects.
WEAK CONTRAST– well, this is the exact opposite of strong contrast. It is a subtle difference when comparing two or more objects.
HOW WILL THESE TERMS HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR DRAWING?
Let's give an example!
Most of the time, strong contrast in art makes it appear more dramatic and vibrant.
Contrast can come in many different forms!
On the other hand, weak contrast gives the subject a feeling of immobility and some kind of laziness.
SO.
STRONG CONTRAST IS GOOD. WEAK CONTRAST IS NOT GOOD.
It turns out that you should always resort to using strong contrast??
NO! For the love of art, don't do this. Some people may be constantly using low contrast. If you are reading this article, do not go from one extreme to another.
The drawing looks dull and flat. If it were not for the black outline, the drawing would not be visible at all on the gray background.
NOW LET'S COMBINE THESE TWO TYPES OF CONTRAST!
(which means you need to draw again :))
This is much better!
Click on the picture to view the image in full size and 100% quality.
True, I cheated, because... I just modified the previous drawing: D
Notice how I selectively highlighted certain areas of the drawing. I used extreme caution in using pure colors like black and white.
OVERALL COLOR SATURATION FROM A FAR
THE KEY TO A VISUALLY INTERESTING DRAWING IS A COMBINATION OF STRONG AND WEAK CONTRAST
You can find many tutorials on this topic on the Internet. But again, the only way progress is practice.
I can’t remember any books on this topic right now, but looking at the works of other artists will be no less instructive.
Incredibly beautiful forest landscapes depicting sun rays, making their way between tree trunks. It is a real pleasure to photograph in the forest, for example, on a sunny autumn morning. But there are some problems associated with such shooting, namely setting the correct exposure.
In this tutorial, we'll show you how to set up your camera to take high-contrast photos, and also say a few words about post-processing them.
To understand the challenges of shooting in a forest, we went to Stockhill Forest in Somerset. We advise you to find a forest that is not very dense, so that the sun's rays can pass freely between the tree trunks. For a more picturesque final photograph, also pay attention to the overall composition, really find beautiful place for shooting.
First, check the weather forecast; the sky should be clear, although a little morning fog and haze can add a special atmosphere to your photo.
Find out exact time sunrise at your latitude, you'll need to be there and ready to shoot before the sun appears.
Make sure you know exactly where the sun will rise. We all know that the sun rises in the East, but depending on the time of year, its location changes: the sun can rise in the North-East or in the South-East.
Our photo will inevitably be very contrasty, and it is almost impossible to cover the entire range of tones from light to shadow with one exposure. Therefore, we will take three pictures from the same angle, but with different meanings exposure (exposure bracketing), and then combine them into one photo.
Preparing for shooting high-contrast images
Time and place
Find a place where trees grow close to each other, but there is enough distance between their trunks so that light rays can pass freely. For shooting, choose a cloudless morning, because clouds have the ability to scatter light. Before you start preparing for shooting, make sure once again that you know exactly where the sun will rise; a compass will come to your aid here.
2. Tripod and remote control
We need a tripod, firstly, because we are going to shoot at long shutter speeds, too, and secondly, we are going to combine pictures taken with different exposures, so they must be absolutely identical, i.e. taken from one point.
When shooting at long exposures, it is highly recommended not to press the shutter button, because touching causes vibrations, which in turn affect the quality of the photo - the photo will turn out blurry. Therefore, I advise you to use a remote control; if you don’t have one, you can simply turn on the timer mode on your camera.
3. Exposure bracketing
Since our landscape includes both bright sunlight, and deep shadows, we get very high contrast, so we'll use exposure bracketing to capture the entire tonal range.
To do this, go to the main menu of the camera and select the Exposure Compensation/AEB section. Here set the exposure step between frames, i.e. move the slider two values to the left for one frame and similarly two values to the right for the second, as a result, for example, if the standard shutter speed is 1/4 second with an aperture of f/16 and ISO100, then the camera will set the shutter speed to 1/15 second. and 1 sec.
4. Aperture and ISO sensitivity
Select Aperture Priority (Av) mode and set the aperture to f/16. Thus, the image will be quite sharp, and thanks to the slightly closed aperture hole, the effect of diverging rays will be created, this occurs as a result of diffraction of light passing between the aperture blades.
Keep the ISO at 100 to avoid noise ruining the image quality. In poor lighting conditions, with these settings, the camera will most likely select a shutter speed of 1/30 sec. up to 3 sec.
5. Focus
Adjust focus manually using Live View. Switch your camera to manual focus mode, then look at the screen of your camera and zoom in on the nearest tree in the foreground. Since we're photographing using a wide-angle lens at f/16, we can be sure that if that area is sharp, the entire photo will be sharp as well. Rotate the lens focusing ring until you achieve maximum sharpness.
6. Take everything from the light
After sunrise you will have about an hour of really good light, the higher the sun rises the less spectacular the photo will look. So work at a fast pace.
Once you've set your bracketing settings, you'll either need to press the shutter button on your remote three times to take a series of photos, or turn on Continuous Shooting mode and wait until three shots have been taken.
Combining three photos with different exposures
1. Open photos in Adobe Camera Raw
We upload our initial photos into the program. To do this, open the tab in the Elements program File - Open, select our images and click Open. Since the photos were taken in Raw format, they will automatically open in Adobe Camera Raw.
2. Give the photo a warm tone
In the left column with our photos, click on the button Select all(Select All) to work with three images at once. We move the Temperature slider to 5000, and set the Tint to +25 to add warm shades.
Now we will edit the photos individually. Select the first photo (with normal exposure) and in Highlights drag the slider to the left to -43 to bring out the exposed area in the sun.
3. Shadows and light
Next, open the second photo (overexposed) and set Highlights to -77. And finally, we move on to the underexposed third image, for which we set the Highlights to 32 and Shadows to +26 to add some fill light in the shadows. Now select all three images again and open them in Elements.
4. Combining images
Now we will combine three photos into one document, thanks to this we will be able to combine areas of the image with different exposures using masks. We will take an image with the correct exposure as a basis. Choose a tool Move tool(Move), click on the overexposed image and drag it onto the photo with the correct exposure, then hold down the Shift key and release the mouse button to create a new layer with this image. Repeat this step with the underexposed photo.
5. Extend the highlighted areas
Select the top layer (I call it Layer 2, it contains an underexposed photo), hold down the Alt key and click on the button Add Layer Mask(add layer mask), this will add a black mask that will make this layer invisible. Now let's take a brush with a size of 500 pixels and a transparency of 25%, select our black mask and use the brush to draw on it the area where the sun is located.
6. Stretch out the midtones
Similarly, add a black mask to the layer with the overexposed photo. Take a white brush with a transparency of 25% and a size of about 800 pixels and paint those areas of the image that you think need to be lightened a little. A slight transparency of the brush will help you avoid sharp transitions.
7. Increase contrast
Now we can adjust the Exposure and Contrast of the entire image. To do this, create a new adjustment layer Levels and set the slider Shadows at value 27, Midtones by 1.52, and Highlights at 235. This will lighten the photo a little and increase the contrast.
8. Add a little red
We'll create another Levels adjustment layer to add some more warmth to the photo. In the Channel menu, select Red and move the Midtones slider to the left to 1.20 to add red tones. Then change the layer blend mode to Soft Light(Soft Light) and set the Opacity to 25%.
9. Brightness/Contrast
Create another adjustment layer, but this time Brightness/Contrast, set the Brightness to 18 and the Contrast to 20. Now that we're finally done with adjustment layers, select the topmost layer and press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E to create one layer containing all the visible components.
10. Getting rid of glare
You can see a few sun flares in my photo. To get rid of them, take a tool Clone Stamp(Clone stamp), holding down the Alt key, select the area with which we will “cover” the highlight and draw over the highlight with a stamp with a cloned fragment.
A final note
Adjustment Layer Levels is a great tool if you need to add some color to an image. Selecting the Red, Blue, Green channels and moving the Midtones slider to left side, you give the photo a tint based on the color of the channel you select.
But by moving the slider to the right, according to the color wheel, you give the image the opposite color, for red the opposite is cyan, for green it is magenta, and for blue it is yellow and green.
In this tutorial we will learn how to quickly adjust Brightness and Contrast without making permanent changes to the image. Leaving the possibility of further editing.
Unlike Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color, which don't allow for fine-tuning, Brightness/Contrast gives you manual control over slider settings. You can adjust Brightness and Contrast separately, in two in various ways: By adjusting the original image and creating a separate layer.
The disadvantage of adjusting the original is that the changes become permanent because they affect the pixels of the image directly. This may interfere with further editing, so should be avoided. It is much more convenient to work with an adjustment layer.
I'm using Photoshop CC, but all the commands used in this tutorial are available in Photoshop CS6.
For the lesson I took an image of a mailbox
Overall, it's not bad, but clearly needs adjusting the Brightness and Contrast. Let's see how an additional adjustment layer can help improve it.
Original image.
Step 1: Add a Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer
The first thing we need to do is add a copy of the image to a new layer. Thanks to this, we can easily make changes without changing the original.
There are several ways to create a layer. First: Menu > Layer > New Adjustment Layer. Then select Brightness/Contrast:
You can also click on the Brightness/Contrast icon in the Adjustments panel in Photoshop. The icon is at the top left. The names of the icons will appear when you hover the mouse cursor over them:
If you don't see the adjustment bar on your screen, look in the window menu. There you will find a list of all Photoshop panels. A check mark next to the panel name means that the panel is already open, so you just didn’t notice it (by default it is located next to the styles panel; in CC 2014 - near the styles and libraries panels).
If you don’t see a checkmark next to the panel, select it to make it appear:
There is also a third way to add an adjustment layer. Click on the New Fill Layer or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:
Then select Brightness/Contrast:
Nothing will happen to the original. But a new Brightness/Contrast Adjustment Layer will appear above the image in the Layers panel:
Step 2: Click the Auto button
While working on the Brightness and Contrast of the original image, a separate window opens in the program. In the case of the corrective one, the settings appear in the Settings Panel, which was added to Photoshop version CS6. The Brightness and Contrast sliders, the Auto Adjustments button, and the Use Previous button are displayed here:
As always, the first thing you need is the Auto Settings button. In this case, Photoshop compares your image with processed photographs of professional photographers. And, focusing on them, sets the brightness and contrast values:
In my case, Brightness is set to 54, Contrast to 66. Of course, each image is unique, so your settings will be different:
Here's my photo with Auto Adjust enabled:
Step 3: Adjust the Brightness and Contrast Controls
If after Auto Adjust you still think your image could look better, you can adjust it using the Brightness and Contrast sliders.
I like the way Photoshop handles this, but I decided to lower the Brightness level a bit to 45 and increase the Contrast to 75. Again, this is my personal opinion on image settings. You can configure both parameters as your own taste tells you:
Here is my photo after manual adjustments. For comparison, the original and untouched image on the left. Processed - on the right:
Working with the “Reuse Previous” function
Just like the static version of the Brightness and Contrast settings, the adjustment layer includes the Use Previous function. It affects Brightness/Contrast settings in the same way as it did in Photoshop CS3. I won’t spend a lot of time on this option, but for example I’ll choose this function:
Using the former forces Photoshop to adjust the images, as in the CS3 version, when Adobe made the most significant improvements. Before CS3, all the Brightness/Contrast settings did was ruin the image.
As short example, with “Use Previous” enabled, I’ll drag the Brightness and Contrast sliders all the way to the right, increasing their values to their maximum. The result is an image that is completely blown out (and with very strange color artifacts). This is because Photoshop used to bring light pixels to pure white, dark pixels to absolute black:
For comparison, by turning off the “Use Previous” option and turning the parameters to maximum, we also get a blown-out photo, but most of the details can still be seen:
By turning the sliders all the way to the left with the “Use Previous” option, we get not just a dark photo - it will be completely black:
With the option turned off, the same settings will give a different result: most of the details will be visible. There is no point in using this option today (except for comparison purposes). It's disabled by default, so it's best to just leave it alone:
Comparing the Original Image with the Adjustment Layer
You may have noticed that the Settings Panel does not contain the View function in the same way as the original version of Brightness/Contrast. The View option allows you to temporarily hide changes to the picture, so we can see the original image.
Does this mean we can't do the same on an adjustment layer? No! This just means that there is simply no corresponding View option, but there is an easy way to do it. Simply click on the layer's visibility icon at the bottom of the Properties panel to toggle the Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer on and off:
You will see your original image when you turn it off.
Click the visibility icon again to turn the adjustment layer back on and show the edited image. This way, you can easily calculate whether you're editing a photo in the right direction by quickly comparing two images:
The little eye icon in the Properties Panel looks familiar. This is because the same layer visibility icon is also on the Layer Panel. They both perform the same function. Clicking on them will hide the adjustment layer or make it visible:
