DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

If you’re confused by curve and levels in Photoshop you need to watch this beginner’s guide

Jan 9, 2020 by John Aldred Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Two of the most commonly used adjustment layers within Photoshop are arguably the Curves and Levels adjustment layers. But if you’re new to Photoshop and you’ve never used them before, you might feel a little intimidated by them. Or perhaps you’re used to the basics of them, but don’t really understand their full power.

In this video, Aaron Nace at Phlearn walks us through the basics of how they work, the differences between the two, and how we can use them effectively in Photoshop to adjust the contrast, brightness or even colour of our photographs.

I tend to use curves far more than I do levels when I’m working in Photoshop as I tend to set my levels within Adobe Camera Raw, but there’s really no right or wrong for many tasks when it comes to choosing one over the other. For some tasks, such as setting the black & white levels, there are ways to achieve identical results in both.

Both adjustment layers will allow you to set the black and white points as well as the midpoint, and change each colour channel individually to add some colour toning effects. But where the two differ, and where Curves comes into its own, is that you can set multiple midpoints in between pure black and pure white to get very high levels of control. Especially once you start to make use of the layer masks.

But both adjustment layers are very easy to get to grips with and with a little practice, they’ll quickly become second nature.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

8 Levels of Photographer Portrayed as A Video Game Levels The C-PAN camera guide arm is a jib, slider and curve all rolled into one The difference between Levels and Curves in Photoshop This beginners guide gives you 20 tips for getting started in Capture One 20

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Aaron Nace, Adobe Photoshop, curves, Levels, phlearn

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« These are three biggest mistakes you make when shooting beverages
This photographer creates complex portraits painted with light »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Comparing iPhone 13 vs iPhone 14 for astrophotography
  • Don’t buy a Z8 directly from Nikon, customers say
  • YouTube is killing off “Stories” to focus on Shorts and Live
  • Four ways to shoot epic stop motion hyperlapse with a smartphone gimbal
  • Canon reported to be working on a “zoomable” teleconverter

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy