Curves

Learn how to turn this picture:

Into this:


1. Curves change the way the light hits your picture. You can make it lighter or darker, or pick out certain colors to make them more vibrant or duller.
So now, go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer> Curves and a window will pop up. ( For you Mac users, you can just click Command + M ) First I'm going to change the Blue Channel, but it doesn't matter which one you start with. We'll be doing them all. If you move the line down, the picture will get darker. If you move it up, it will get lighter. You can also make multiple points if you would like. Here's what my blue channel looks like:


2. Do the same thing with the rest, moving the lines to wherever you want or you can just copy my lines. ( If those Input & Output box show up, I wouldn't type in those numbers. It's only for that last point I put up. )


Your RGB Channel changes the lighting more than anything else does, so play around with it until you get it how you like.


3. Now you're done! If you want, you can always change the lines around to your liking, and add some extra effects at the end.


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