Tone Curves: Lightroom’s Magic Contrast Adjustment Tool (VIDEO)
Last month we brought you an interesting Lightroom tutorial demonstrating a unique method for using color curves adjustments to embellish mediocre landscape photographs with a beautiful soft dreamy twilight glow. This follow-up video provides an equally powerful tone curves trick that you’ll definitely want to try.
Today’s step-by-step lesson comes to us from Eastern Shore Photo Instruction, and our unnamed instructor makes this emphatic claim about what you’ll learn in the next 16 minutes: “Tone curves are Lightroom’s Magic Window for contrast adjustments.”
The episode begins with an overview of the basic functions and features of Lightroom’s transformational Tone Curves tool to target contrast, exposure, and color based upon very specific tonal ranges within the frame. As you’ll see, there are various types of curves available for accomplishing different tasks, depending upon the specific image at hand.
Our instructor says that for his purposes, the basic function of the tone curve is to increase or decrease contrast in photographs. In other words, we make light areas lighter and dark elements darker. You’ll see how doing so also has an impact on exposure.
Another important consideration is the fact that saturation can be an issue when contrast adjustments are made. In fact, “contrast modifications affect just about everything you can do to a picture depending upon how the tone curve is applied.”
The video proceeds with clear demonstrations of various curves functions, like when applying the Parametric tool, a Luminosity curve, or using the Refine Saturation slider—all the while protecting your primary adjustment points. The important RGB Tone Curve tool is also part of the conversation.
What makes this approach so interesting is that it can be accomplished globally, although our instructor insists that, “using the tone curve with masked selections is the most powerful processing option.”
Once you’re done watching don’t forget to visit the Eastern Shore Photo Instruction YouTube channel for more image-editing tips and tricks. And be sure to watch the tutorial mentioned above and learn how another post-processing expert employ’s Lightroom’s versatile Curves tool to achieve enchanting atmospheric effects.
