We can use levels and curves to colour correct the tones and balance of a photo by adjusting the intensity levels of shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. Welcome back, everyone, to another tutorial. For students learning to enhance their images for the first time, I suggest using Levels as fewer things are happening in the panel than Curves. A cool trick in Photoshop is to hold the ALT key while dragging the sliders to get a better idea where the shadows (darkest areas) and highlights (brightest areas) of the image before setting the dark and white points with levels.
The first is the input levels. As you move the shadows slider from left to right, everything to the slider’s left will turn to pure black. As you move the highlight slider from right to left, everything to the slider’s right will turn to pure white. The slider in the middle controls the mid-tones. Drag the slider to the right to make it darker or left to make it brighter without affecting the overall contrast.
The output levels are below the input levels. This slider allows you to control the overall contrast of the image. You can brighten up the darker areas of a photo using the shadows slider or darken the highlights using the highlight slider.
Let’s get to work here!
Here is an image that I found online. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the photo; it’s a duotone image with sepia and black. In a few seconds, the picture will dramatically change.
95% of the time, I will only use the input levels. In rare situations, I may use both input and output levels or use curves.
Let’s set the black point, and select the black eyedropper and hold the ALT key. Then slide the slider to the right to see the darkest area or blackest point of the image (the shadows). Once you find that sweet spot, you may need to click on the black eyedropper again and click on that sweet spot.
Next up, I will select the white eyedropper tool to set the brightest point and hold the ALT key. Slide the slider to the left to see the image’s lightest area or whitest point (the highlights). Once you find that magic spot, you may need to click on the white eyedropper again and click on that magic spot.
Finally, you can set the mid-tones by dragging the slider to the right to make it darker or left to make it brighter without affecting the overall contrast. Or you can leave it as is.
By choosing a specific colour channel from the top’s drop-down, you can shift the highlights and shadows to different colours. This is a powerful way to colour tone and colour correct an image, as it gives you precise control over where the colours appear in a photo.