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Anonymous
Sup /p/eeps.

Can someone explain how to use curves in plain English?
>> Anonymous
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Here's the pic i'm trying to work with.
>> Anonymous
it's very simple: dick around with them until you think it looks good.
>> Anonymous
>>274094
As anon says
>> Anonymous
>>274094
>>274094

Hahah, thats exactly what i'm doing now.... any other suggestions? Is there actually a method at all, or is it just fuckery and flukes
>> Anonymous
>>274099
Generally an "s" shape is held to be a good starting point for the dicking.

Dick too radically and you'll get posterization, uneven, unrealistic tonal transitions, you know, like on a poster.

But pretty much just dick.
>> Anonymous
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Here's what my dicking around made... This was made with 10 different exposures and I fucked up and the camera shifted a bit between exposures so it looks like ass, but i think the colours are nice and somewhat surreal..

C&C?

Camera-Specific Properties:Camera SoftwareAdobe Photoshop CS3 MacintoshImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution240 dpiVertical Resolution240 dpiImage Created2008:10:12 22:15:51Color Space InformationsRGBImage Width602Image Height902
>> beethy !vW/UaE6zYU
>>274120
Boring, blurry, shitty composition and ugly blown highlights.
>> Anonymous
>>274128
You're not any better so sit the fuck down.
>> Anonymous
>>274120

I agree that its boring, blurry (see; movement between exposures) and the highlights (especially around the trees) are overcooked.

The composition really isnt that bad, but the purpose of that shot was just to learn how to properly render HDR images as well as learning to use curves effectively.

But hey, i post on /p/ because i want brutal, uncensored criticism from fucking assholes like myself.
>> beethy !vW/UaE6zYU
>>274136
Well, the composition bores me to tears.
As for HDR shots... no need to take 10 photos. 3 is enough.
Check the histogram after shooting to make sure nothing is blown out.
Avoid anything moving if possible (like that tree)
You don't need to shoot on a tripod. It's okay for the camera to shift a little, software can align the shots.
>> Anonymous
>>274133
Just because someone isn't better then you, doesn't make their points less valid.
>> Anonymous
>>274192

I've heard that the auto align feature in PS isn't very reliable....but i'll check it out.
>> Anonymous
>>274094
Exactly what I wanted to say.

Drag sliders and curves line around until it looks better.
>> Anonymous
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>>274078

Camera-Specific Properties:Camera SoftwareAdobe Photoshop CS3 WindowsImage-Specific Properties:Image OrientationTop, Left-HandHorizontal Resolution72 dpiVertical Resolution72 dpiImage Created2008:10:16 01:44:52Color Space InformationUncalibratedImage Width666Image Height1002
>> Anonymous
>>276043

Holy fuck
>> Anonymous
>>276207
i dont understand your comment,i>>276043downloaded OP original pic and played with color hues.i know its not really top quality ,but OP pic was the same.i believe i made the pic more acceptable to the general public for album use.
>> Anonymous
holy shit why does no one know how to use curves

its very simple

black->white is left-> right

drag the line up, on the left, to make blacks lighter.

drag the line down, on the right, to make whites darker.
>> Anonymous
HA ummm curves is incredible...been learning bout it and there are so many things u can do its mindblowing maybe dan margoulis can help
>> Anonymous
i find curves only work for me when the image is high definition.then i can get the results i look for when playing with this particular feature in PS.
>> Anonymous
>>276594
>>276594

better described as shadows are on the left, highlights are on the right, and the middle. Sounds funny calling it blacks & whites when you get into RGB curves (though not actually false).

say you had a portrait where a girl was standing on a blue floor, but in the picture, the floor's color looked inaccurate, and her arm was brighter than her face.

Using curves, you select out the floor, drop a color sampler on it, and see that the floor looks a little magenta.. apply curves to the selected area and mess with the Green channel until it looks right.

Similarly, the girl's arm is too bright. Select her arm (color range selection is usually pretty good for this), then do curves and pull down the curve on the highlights part (the right side) until it looks right.

There is a lot of experimentation with curves, but if you remember left = shadows and right = highlights, youre starting out from a much better place.

>>274117

doing an S-shaped curve is teh same thing as upping the contrast slider in brightness/contrast... it's no more a good starting point than any, and really depends on if the picture needs more contrast.