We often use Curves in our workflow. It’s a staple in almost every genre of photography. But how often do you venture into the beautiful world of color or RGB Curves? Probably not as often as you’d care to mention.

No worries, I didn’t either. At least not until I realized how to use them effectively in my images. The color curves are just as difficult to tame as the RGB or luminance curve. But once you get the hang of them, they become just as second nature.

It would be best if you thought like a painter first. It’s a lot like mixing colors on a palette. Next, you must understand the color curve’s function and how it affects the image globally. It will add color. It doesn’t care much about the perceived color in your photos like HSL and Selective Color.

Let’s dive in, and you’ll see how all this comes together.

•Chapters•
00:00 Introduction
01:12 How the Curve works
03:23 The Color Curves Explained
05:45 Practical Application with Color Curves
06:42 Color Principles – Perceived Color & Actual Color
09:33 Painting with Curves
14:00 The Challenge! Can you do it?
17:09 Closing Remarks

Download the Challenge Image

 

Blake Rudis
f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
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