Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Step Nine:
There are three more things you'll need
to know about the Tone Curve panel, and
then we're set. The first is how to use the
three slider knobs that appear at the
bottom of the graph. Those are called
Range sliders, and essentially they let you
choose where the black, white, and mid-
point ranges are that the tone curve will
adjust (you determine what's a shadow,
what's a midtone, and what's a highlight
by where you place them). For example,
the Range slider on the left (shown circled
here in red) represents the shadow areas,
and the area that appears to the left of that
knob will be affected by the Shadows slider.
If you want to expand the range of what
the Shadows slider controls, click-and-drag
the left Range slider to the right (as shown
here). Now your Shadows slider adjust-
ments affect a larger range of your photo.
The middle Range slider covers the mid-
tones. Clicking-and-dragging that midtones
Range slider to the right decreases the space
between the midtone and highlight areas,
so your Lights slider now controls less of a
range, and your Darks slider controls more
of a range. To reset any of these sliders
to their default position, just double-click
directly on the one you want to reset.
Step 10:
The second thing you'll want to know is
how to reset your tone curve and start
over. Just double-click directly on the
word Region and it resets all four sliders
to 0. Lastly, the third thing is how to see
a before/after of just the contrast you've
added with the Tone Curve panel. You
can toggle the Tone Curve adjustments
off/on by using the little switch on the left
side of the panel header (shown circled
here). Just click it on or off. As we finish
this off, here's a before/after with no adjust-
ments whatsoever except for the Tone
Curve. It's more powerful than it looks.
