Curves overview

In the Curves adjustment, you adjust points throughout an images tonal

range. Initially, the images tonality is represented as a straight diagonal line
on a graph. When adjusting an RGB image, the upper-right area of the graph
represents the highlights and the lower-left area represents the shadows. The
horizontal axis of the graph represents the input levels (original image
values) and the vertical axis represents the output levels (new adjusted
values). As you add control points to the line and move them, the shape of
the curve changes, reflecting your image adjustments. The steeper sections
of the curve represent areas of higher contrast while flatter sections
represent areas of lower contrast.
You can save Curves adjustment settings as presets. See Save adjustment
settings and Reapply adjustment settings.
Note:
The Curves adjustment can also be applied to CMYK, LAB, or Grayscale
images. For CMYK images, the graph displays percentages of ink/pigment.
For LAB and Grayscale images, the graph displays light values.

Curves options in the Properties panel

A. On-image adjustment tool B. Sample in image to set black

point. C. Sample in image to set gray point. D. Sample in image to set white
point. E. Edit points to modify the curve. F. Draw to modify the
curve. G. Curves presets menu H. Set black point. I. Set gray point. J. Set
white point. K. Show clipping.
Video tutorial: Increase midtone contrast
with curves
lynda.com

Adjust image color and tone with Curves

Moving a point in the top portion of the curve adjusts the highlights. Moving
a point in the center of the curve adjusts the midtones, and moving a point
in the bottom section of the curve adjusts the shadows. To darken highlights,
move a point near the top of the curve downward. Moving a point either
down or to the right maps the Input value to a lower Output value, and the
image darkens. To lighten the shadows, move a point near the bottom of the
curve upward. Moving a point either up or to the left maps a lower Input
value to a higher Output value, and the image lightens.
1. To apply a Curves adjustment, do one of the following:

o Click the Curves icon in the

Adjustments panel.
o Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. Click OK in the
New Layer dialog box.
Note:
Choosing Image > Adjustments > Curves applies the adjustment directly to
the image layer and discards image information.
(Optional) To adjust the color balance, in the Properties panel,
choose the channel you want to adjust from the menu to the left of the
Auto button.
In the Properties panel, do any of the following:
o Click directly on the curve line and then drag the control point to
adjust a tonal area.
o Select the On-image adjustment tool and then drag in the area of
the image you want to adjust.
o Select the On-image adjustment tool and click the tonal areas in
the image that you want to adjust. This places control points along the
curve line.
o Choose a preset from the Preset menu.
Dragging a control point up or down lightens or darkens the tonal area youre
adjusting. Dragging a control point left or right increases or decreases the
contrast. You can add up to 14 control points to the curve. To remove a
control point, drag it off the graph. As you adjust the tonality, the graph
continues displaying the original diagonal baseline and image histogram as
references. These options can be turned off, see Set Curves Display Options.
(Optional) Do any of the following to modify the adjustment:
o Add more points directly to the curve to adjust different tonal
areas.
o Click the On-image adjustment tool in other areas of the image,
and drag up or down.
o Move the Set Black and White Point sliders or use the Eyedropper
tools to specify the darkest and lightest values in the image.
o Click a point on the curve, and enter values in the Input and
Output text boxes.
o Select the pencil icon and draw a new curve over the existing
one. When you have finished, click the Smooth the Curve Values icon or to
smooth the curve you drew. Clicking more than once continues to smooth
the curve further.
Points on the curve remain anchored until you move them. You can make an
adjustment in one tonal area without affecting other areas.
 Clicking the On-image adjustment tool in the image adds control points to the curve.
Moving the control points adjusts the tonality of the image.

Removing control points from a curve

To remove a control point, do any of the following:
Drag the control point off the graph.
Select the control point and press Delete.
Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) the control point.

Set Curve display options

You can control the curve grid display using the Curve display options.
1. Apply a Curves adjustment.
2. In the Properties panel, choose Curves Display Options from the panel
menu.
Note:
If you chose Image > Adjustments > Curves, expand the Curve Display
Options in the Curves dialog box.
3. In the Curves Display Options dialog box, select any of the following:
Light (0-255) Displays the intensity values for RGB images in a range from
0 to 255, with black (0) at the lower-left corner.
Pigment/Ink % Displays the percentages for CMYK images are displayed in
a range from 0 to 100, with highlights (0%) at the lower-left corner.
Simple Grid Displays gridlines in 25% increments.
Detailed Grid Displays gridlines in 10% increments.
Show Channel Overlays Displays color channel curves superimposed on
the composite curve.
Histogram Displays a histogram of the original image tonal values behind
the graph.
Baseline Displays the original image color and tonality as a 45-degree
angle line for reference,
Intersection Line Displays horizontal and vertical lines to help you align
control points as your drag them relative to the histogram or grid.
Note:
To change the gridline increment, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click
(Mac OS) the grid.

Apply an Auto correction in Curves

Click Auto in the Properties panel.
Auto applies an automatic color correction using the current default setting.
To change the default setting, choose Auto Options from the Properties panel
menu and set the options in the Auto Color Correction Options dialog
box. You can apply an Auto Color, Auto Contrast, or Auto Tone correction to
an image. For more information on these options, see Set Auto adjustment
options.

Set black and white points using the black

point and white point sliders
When applying a Curves adjustment, use the black and white sliders to
quickly set the black and white points (pure black and pure white values) in
the image.
1. Drag the black and white point sliders to any point along the horizontal
axis. Note that the Input value changes as your drag.
2. To preview clipping as you adjust black and white points, do one of the
following:
o Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS).
o Choose Show Clipping For Black/White Points from the panel
menu.
Add contrast to the midtones of a photo with
Curves
If the image uses the full tonal range, but needs midtone contrast, Click the

Curves icon in the Adjustments panel.

Drag the curve into an S shape.

Increasing the slope in the middle of the curve increases contrast in the midtones.
 Keyboard shortcuts: Curves
You can use these keyboard shortcuts for Curves:
To set a point on the curve for the selected color in each color
component channel (but not in the composite channel), Shift+Ctrl-click
(Windows) or Shift+Command-click (Mac OS) in the image.

To select multiple points, Shift-click points on the curve. Selected

points are filled with black.

To deselect all points on the curve, click in the grid, or press Ctrl-D
(Windows) or Command-D (Mac OS).

To select the next higher point on the curve, press the plus key; to
select the next lowest, press the minus key.

To move selected points on the curve, press the arrow keys.

(Curves dialog box) To set a point on the curve for the current channel,
Ctrl-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac OS) in the image.
Note:
If youre instead using the Curves adjustment, simply click in the image with

the On-image adjustment tool