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Learn Photoshop Curves by familiarizing yourself with what others consider an intimidating Photoshop tool. This short article will try to explain in simple terms and some illustrations the basic techniques for the powerful secrets of image correction using Curves.  Getting familiar and mastering Adobe Photoshop Curves is the key to many advanced image correction techniques. In this tutorial, we will discover the basic techniques and advantages of using curves in editing images.

Learn Photoshop: The Photoshop Curves Dialogue Box
Once you have an image open in Photoshop, go to Image>Adjustment>Curves to access the Curves dialogue box. By default, you will see a grid with a 45 degree line across the box. You will also see a gradient both at the side and the bottom of the grid. These gradients tell you which side of the Photoshop curves relate to black and which side relates to white.

Let’s look at the functions of the most crucial tools inside the Curves dialogue box.

1) Channel- Use this drop-down menu to select and adjust the curves for all the channels in a color mode (RGB or CMYK). You also have the option to select and adjust and individual channel (C,M,Y or K—if you’re working in CMYK mode; or R,G or B)
2) Point tool and Pencil Tool– The pencil tool allows you to draw curves on the grid while the point tool will automatically add points to the curve you drew. Specifically, the point tool also allows you to add or adjust points to a curve .
3) Curve Point- Use these points to adjust the curve. The default color of these points are white  when unselected.  When they are black, it means, these points are selected.
4) Eye droppers– the three eyedroppers pertains to  shadow, midtones and highlights. Use them to pick or identify the corresponding color tones in an image to help you in the image correction process.
5) Large/Small grids- Photoshop offers you two options for viewing the grids area. Toggle between the two views using these buttons.

Learn how to brighten or darken an image in Photoshop using the Curves Dialogue Box
It is quite easy to adjust the tone of an image using this method. in Photoshop. The simple rule that we need to remember is that if any point of the curve is steeper than 45 degrees, you are adding contrast. If the Photoshop curve is shallower that 45 degrees, then contrast is removed. Thus the simplest way to brighten an image in Photoshop using Curves is to create a point in the middle and drag it up. Since you only have one point, dragging it up will change the 45-degree line into a curved line.

Learn how to add contrast to an image in Photoshop using Curves
To understand the effect of the “S” curve in the overall brightness and contrast of the image in Photoshop, we need to have a good understanding of the principle that a picture has high contrast if a section of the curve is steeper than 45 degrees and if shallower, contrast is down. So what the “S” curve does  is quite self explanatory and is too quite obvious and logical. The two points in the “S” curve force the section close to black and white to be shallower than 45 degrees, thus reducing contrast. At the same time, the gradient of the curve is steeper than 45 degrees over the midtones , increasing their contrast.

Learn how to use the curves eyedropper in Photoshop
There are three eyedroppers that you can use in the Photoshop Curves options.

1) Shadow Eyedropper – Use this to add saturation to an image. Once selected, click on any black area on the image you are working on in Photoshop. If your image is initially too bright, you can use this tool to gain better saturation.
2) Midtone Eyedropper- Once selected, click any middle tone area of the image. This tool can change the entire color tone of an image, so experiment or try as many colors as possible as your mid-tone before you hit the OK button in Photoshop
3) Highlight Eyedropper – Use this to brighten up an image. Simply select it on the curves dialogue box and click on the white area of an image. This is very useful if you are working on an image with low saturation.