A Beginner's Guide to the Tone Curve in Lightroom

There are often multiple ways to go about achieving the same result when editing photos, and that is particularly true when it comes to editing the tones of an image. One of the most powerful and efficient tools for doing this in Lightroom is the tone curve. If you are new to the tool and wondering how to use it, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you an introduction to the tone curve and how to use it to create better edits.

Coming to you from Anthony Morganti, this great video tutorial will show you the ins and outs of the tone curve in Lightroom. Simply put, the tone curve is a graphical representation of luminance values. The horizontal axis represents all the luminance values as they are in the image before adjustment, while the vertical axis represents the values you want to map them to. Manipulating this curve allows you to very quickly and precisely do things like lighten shadows, deepen contrast, and a lot more. It is well worth becoming acquainted with it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Morganti. 

If you want to continue learning about Lightroom, be sure to check out "Fstoppers Introduction to Adobe Lightroom: The Ultimate Crash Course With Pye Jirsa!"

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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