How To Use Levels And Curves In Photoshop

Every bit I take said many times, Photoshop is perhaps the most powerful and flexible tool for developing photographs, but it is also complex and not always intuitive. Even though Photoshop has been effectually for decades at present, many of the states are merely getting into it and even for those who have been using information technology for years, some things can still be mysterious. 2 questions that repeatedly come up almost Photoshop are what is the difference betwixt Levels and Curves adjustments and is one of them ameliorate than the other? In the following video tutorial, I exercise my all-time to provide some answers.

Brand sure to watch the video to get the complete story, but hither are the main ideas:

What are Levels and Curves adjustments used for? They are commonly used for adjusting brightness and contrast but they tin also adjust colour balance.
What is the simplest way to adjust brightness and contrast in Photoshop? The Brightness/Contrast adjustment has just two controls, a slider for brightness and a slider for contrast, making information technology the easiest way to brand such adjustments. However, what it offers in simplicity it lacks in control. It's fine for very simply brightness and contrast adjustments but Levels and Curves each let you to practice much more.
How are Levels and Curves the same? Both adjustments allow you to increase contrast by independently adjusting the blackness and white levels and yous can also control how the brightness is balanced with a midpoint control. They also both provide color balance adjustments and tools for setting a black indicate, white point and gray point.
Can Curves do everything Levels tin can do? Yes, fifty-fifty though they appear different, every control you have in Levels is also in Curves. However, Curves can also do much more than Levels.
How is Curves dissimilar than Levels? Levels has just three control points (black, white and midpoint) and it is a single axis adjustment. Curves allows you to identify multiple control points and each point can move on two axes.
What are the advantages of Curves? Multiple control points can exist used to suit some tones while protecting others. Contrast tin can be increased without clipping shadows or highlights. With curves, you tin decrease dissimilarity, something you can't do with Levels. The targeted adjustment tool in Curves can exist used to select and suit tones right on the image. Finally, the targeted adjustment tool can also be used to adjust the colour balance in context directly on the prototype.
What are the disadvantages of Curves? Curves is more complicated to learn and tin exist a bit disruptive. It's besides easier to brand a bad aligning with Curves.

Curves conspicuously gives yous the most options and control only it takes some exercise to go good at it. Curves can do everything Levels or Effulgence/Contrast can plus more, so if you could only accept one of these adjustments Curves would be the obvious pick.

Nevertheless, if you can attain a particular aligning with Levels and it is quicker and easier for you, then there is no reason not to use information technology.

And if all you need is to make a basic brightness and contrast adjustment so Brightness/Contrast is the easiest tool of them all.

If you would like you can download this video and keep it for hereafter reference. It is slap-up on its own and information technology besides makes a helpful supplement to my Photoshop Essentials for Outdoor Photographers form.

Sean is an outdoor lensman, digital image developing enthusiast and photography educator based in Ashland, Oregon, where he resides with his married woman and two sons. His previous career as a scientific discipline teacher makes photography educational activity a good fit. Sean teams up with fellow Photo Cascadia members leading workshops. He too teaches digital image developing classes, lectures and offers a series ofPhotoshop video tutorials.

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