Lesson Info
35. Understanding Curves
Lessons
Introduction To Adobe Photoshop
04:05 2Bridge vs. Lightroom
06:39 3Tour of Photoshop Interface
18:21 4Overview of Bridge Workspace
07:42 5Overview of Lightroom Workspace
11:21 6Lightroom Preferences - Saving Documents
08:19 7How To Use Camera Raw in Adobe Photoshop 2020
05:10 8Overview of Basic Adjustment Sliders
13:09Developing Raw Images
30:33 10Editing with the Effects and HLS Tabs
09:12 11How to Save Images
03:37 12Using the Transform Tool
04:48 13Making Selections in Adobe Photoshop 2020
06:03 14Selection Tools
05:55 15Combining Selection Tools
07:37 16Using Automated Selection Tools
17:34 17Quick Mask Mode
05:07 18Select Menu Essentials
21:28 19Using Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020
13:00 20Align Active Layers
07:29 21Creating a New Layer
06:15 22Creating a Clipping Mask
03:02 23Using Effects on Layers
11:24 24Using Adjustment Layers
16:44 25Using the Shape Tool
04:39 26Create a Layer Mask Using the Selection Tool
04:39 27Masking Multiple Images Together
15:15 28Using Layer Masks to Remove People
10:50 29Using Layer Masks to Replace Sky
10:04 30Adding Texture to Images
09:11 31Layering to Create Realistic Depth
05:35 32Adjustment Layers in Adobe Photoshop 2020
05:29 33Optimizing Grayscale with Levels
10:59 34Adjusting Levels with a Histogram
03:37 35Understanding Curves
06:18 36Editing an Image Using Curves
18:41 37Editing with Shadows/Highlights Adjustment
07:19 38Dodge and Burn Using Quick Mask Mode
07:14 39Editing with Blending Modes
08:04 40Color Theory
05:59 41Curves for Color
16:52 42Hue and Saturation Adjustments
08:59 43Isolating Colors Using Hue/Saturation Adjustment
13:33 44Match Colors Using Numbers
16:59 45Adjusting Skin Tones
05:25 46Retouching Essentials In Adobe Camera Raw
10:52 47Retouching with the Spot Healing Brush
07:53 48Retouching with the Clone Stamp
06:51 49Retouching with the Healing Brush
04:34 50Retouching Using Multiple Retouching Tools
13:07 51Extending an Edge with Content Aware
03:42 52Clone Between Documents
13:19 53Crop Tool
10:07 54Frame Tool
02:59 55Eye Dropper and Color Sampler Tools
08:14 56Paint Brush Tools
13:33 57History Brush Tool
06:27 58Eraser and Gradient Tools
03:06 59Brush Flow and Opacity Settings
04:17 60Blur and Shape Tools
11:06 61Dissolve Mode
09:24 62Multiply Mode
15:29 63Screen Mode
14:08 64Hard Light Mode
14:54 65Hue, Saturation, and Color Modes
11:31 66Smart Filters
11:32 67High Pass Filter
13:40 68Blur Filter
05:59 69Filter Gallery
07:42 70Adaptive Wide Angle Filter
04:43 71Combing Filters and Features
04:45 72Select and Mask
20:04 73Manually Select and Mask
08:08 74Creating a Clean Background
21:19 75Changing the Background
13:34 76Smart Object Overview
08:37 77Nested Smart Objects
09:55 78Scale and Warp Smart Objects
09:08 79Replace Contents
06:55 80Raw Smart Objects
10:20 81Multiple Instances of a Smart Object
12:59 82Creating a Mockup Using Smart Objects
05:42 83Panoramas
13:15 84HDR
11:20 85Focus Stacking
04:02 86Time-lapse
11:18 87Light Painting Composite
08:05 88Remove Moire Patterns
06:11 89Remove Similar Objects At Once
09:52 90Remove Objects Across an Entire Image
05:46 91Replace a Repeating Pattern
06:50 92Clone from Multiple Areas Using the Clone Source Panel
10:27 93Remove an Object with a Complex Background
07:49 94Frequency Separation to Remove Staining and Blemishes
12:27 95Warping
11:03 96Liquify
14:02 97Puppet Warp
12:52 98Displacement Map
10:36 99Polar Coordinates
07:19 100Organize Your Layers
11:02 101Layer Styles: Bevel and Emboss
02:59 102Layer Style: Knockout Deep
12:34 103Blending Options: Blend if
13:18 104Blending Options: Colorize Black and White Image
06:27 105Layer Comps
08:30 106Black-Only Shadows
06:07 107Create a Content Aware Fill Action
08:46 108Create a Desaturate Edges Action
07:42 109Create an Antique Color Action
13:52 110Create a Contour Map Action
10:20 111Faux Sunset Action
07:20 112Photo Credit Action
05:54 113Create Sharable Actions
07:31 114Common Troubleshooting Issues Part 1
10:23 115Common Troubleshooting Issues Part 2
07:57 116Image Compatibility with Lightroom
03:29 117Scratch Disk Is Full
06:02 118Preview Thumbnail
02:10Lesson Info
Understanding Curves
So now let's move on and look at other adjustments that are much more powerful than levels. Levels is very useful, but I think there's something that could be dramatically more useful. And that is, as I work my way down this adjustment menu, I get beyond levels and I find curves. Curves is the ultimate tonal adjustments. You can do things that no other adjustment conduce. And in fact, the other adjustments we use thus far are actually using curves behind the scenes to do the work that they dio. And they're just trying to present you with a simpler screen, a simpler interface to interact with. But if you want full control, you want to use curves. Now. Curves is something that is not easy to learn on your own, but I'll get you toe, understand how it works, and it will take you practice before you are good with it. But the practice, I think, is worth it because you'll get ultimate control over your images. So in curves, let's see how this works Well, if you look at curves, it's a diagonal...
line going across a grid, and at the bottom is a Grady int that has all the brightness levels you could have in your picture. And in fact, most of the time this Grady it will be reversed where black will be on the left. It's only because I have a, um, a grayscale picture that it's reversed. If I take this image and converted Targhee be the vast majority of images we're gonna work on will be RGB in. Therefore, if I go into curves after that, now you see black is on the left. Whereas a moment ago it was reversed. Why is that? Well, when you're working with gray scale, it's thinking about Inc And when you're working in RGB is thinking about light. The two are opposite of each other. Ah, 100% light is the same as 0% Inc and therefore it flips it. It'll make sense in a few moments. So we have that Grady. And at the bottom, then the diagonal line is just telling you how much light would be used to create the shades you see down here. So to create black, this is all the way at the bottom because you would use no light whatsoever to create something this bright. If you go straight up. You'd use this much light compared to the amount you could use, which is all the way to the top. And as you work your way this way, you see the curve above that diagonal line that IHS gets higher and hired. Indicate you'd use mawr and mawr, inm or light. And once you get to white, the curve is all the way at the top because you've maxed it out. You can't get any brighter than white, so you can't go any higher than that, so this would be as high as you could possibly go. The way I think of it is, since it's talking about light, I think about a dimmer switch if you go to your kitchen and you find that one of your, uh lights is on a dimmer, and it's not the kind that's a knob. Instead, it's the kind you push up and down. It's just like curves. If you move that dimmer all the way to the bottom, it turns the lights off in the room is solid black. You can't see a thing and listers windows. Then, as you move the slider up, you add more light into gets brighter. And once you max out, that slider is high as it can go, it's not possible to make the room any brighter without adding some other light source in. In the case of Photoshopped, the brightest we can get is white, so we'll get it all. The way to the top is white, so just think of it as picking one of these shades and then going straight up until you hit the diagonal line, and that tells you how far up the dimmer switch would be. You're not as high as he could possibly go because it's not white. You're not having lights turned off your somewhere in between. All right, then what can I do with this? Well, you can move your mouse on your image. And if you click this little hand icon that's in the lower left, then that means that if I move my mouse over my image, it should think about curbs. And so when I go over my image, you'll see a circle and curbs in. The only thing that circle is doing is it's telling me how much light is in the various areas. I put my mouse on top of. So if you're to go straight down from wherever that circle is appearing and you look at that bar that spans the bottom, it would be sitting directly above the exact shade my mouse is on. So it's just telling me how much light is in each area. Well, this doesn't sound too exciting yet. What if I want to make two of these bars exactly the same brightness level, but I want to leave all the other bars alone. I can do that if I want to take this bar and I want to take this bar, get them to be the exact same brightness level. I could do it very quickly and easily and curves, and then I can take the other bars and get them back, but where they used to be, This is close to that if you know what you're doing, and I haven't described enough yet for you to know what you're doing. But let me turn preview off years before here's after. Do you see those two bars that became identical? It looks like the brightest part of the image is getting a little too Ah, dark. So I have toe adjust that, too. But let's then say instead, I want to do the opposite. I want just those two bars to look more dramatically different from each other than they used to. Well, let's start over here and I want to make this bar brighter. Gotta turn on this little hand, make this bar brighter, make this bar darker. There is a greater difference between the two. I can easily do that. Then I want the other bars to go a little bit back to where they were. Not exactly, but closer. I have control over that kind of stuff, and I have none of that control. When I'm in levels or brightness and contrast, I can't click on my picture and say, Think about this brightness level and do something specific on Lee that brightness level
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Noel Ice
I am an avid reader of photoshop books, and an avid watcher of photoshop tutorials. I have attended (internet) several hundred of presentations. In the course of this endeavor, I have found my own favorite photoshop websites and instructors. Creative Live is probably the bargain out there as well as among the top three internet course sites. I have to say with great enthusiasm that the best Photoshop instructor is Ben Willmore. There are many great ones, but truly, he is the best I have come across, and, as indicated above, I have watched literally 100s of tutorials on Photoshop. I have seen all of Ben's courses, I think, and among them, this one is the best by far, and that is saying a lot, because that makes this course the best course on Photoshop to be found anywhere. I am going back and watching it twice. Not only is it comprehensive, but Ben is so familiar with his subject that he is able to explain it like no other. This is crème de la crème of Photoshop classes. I have been wanting to write this review for some time because I have been so thoroughly impressed with everything about this class!
ford smith
Highly recommended if you want to take your Photoshop skills to the next level. Ben Willmore is clear, concise, and professional. He also has a good speaking voice that is not distracting but also keeps you engaged. Lastly, I would recommend that as you become more advanced, increasing the speed of the video (one of the options given on the menu)...especially if you've gone through the course once before and maybe want to watch it again. The double speed is very efficient as you become more advanced in Photoshop. Thanks for the help Ben!
a Creativelive Student
Wow. I cannot communicate the value of this course!! The true value in this course is how the instructor identifies workflows you'll need before you'll ever realize it, repeats important information without it becoming annoying, and explains the "why" behind the techniques so well that even if you forget the exact method, you can figure it out via the principles learned. Excellent value, excellent material, excellent instructor!!!