Basic tone curve questions

[southwestform]

1. when putting points on the curve to darken the darks and lift the highlights, how do you know the best spot for doing it? Is it just guesswork, or is there something else to it?

2. Is there something in LR similar to what PS has where you can drag on different parts of the image and it places a point on the curve for that spot?

Thanks.

[JP Hess]

I think you're asking about the targeted adjustment tool. With it activated, you can click and drag and down on a selected area on your image.

[southwestform]

1. Are the points I used on the curve typical locations for points you might use to create an s shape?

2. If you want to work with darkening the blacks, do you work with the point furthest to the left or the next one going toward the right?

3. If you want to work with the whites, do you work with the point furthest to the right or the one before it to the left?

Thank you.

[JP Hess]

I think you have the right idea.

[cmgap · Accepted solution]

One of the best ways to learn how to use the tone curve tool is to make adjustments and watch the results on your image and histogram. With this tool you can manipulate the highlights, shadows and mid-tones or said another way the tonality of the image. You can also adjust the individual color channels as well for a more advanced way of color correcting your images. For example if your image needs more yellow you can add more yellow or subtract blue.

This short tutorial may be helpful to get you going in the right direction: Tone Curve « Julieanne Kost's Blog

Hope you find it helpful.