Photo adjustments in photoshop question

[Mike410]

Hello,

I am just wondering what is the best way (that most people use) to adjust photos (jpegs) in photoshop.

I have CS2 and I usually just use the levels tool.

Do people usually use curves as well? or hue and saturation?

I find the levels tool the easiest to use.

Thanks,

Mike

[zona5101]

The tool used depends on the adjustment that needs to be made or the desired effect. Like the old saying "there's more than one way to skin a cat", with PS there are usually multiple tools/techniques that can be used to get the same result. Take a look at some of the websites that feature PS such as Photoshop Killer Tips or the Adobe site itself. Even though you have an older version of PS, many of the tips and techniques can still be applied with your version.

[CiiVii]

A book with some ideas in it might help get thoughts turning on what you can do with Photoshop. I have CS2 also, you should still be able to get some books made for CS2. Scott Kelby's The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers is a "recipe" book that cites specific problems and offers solutions in a simple manner which anyone can use to get the job done. It's nice for reference while you are getting started, and once you start to understand how things work you can go on from there.

[teaking]

Although I dont have photoshop the most useful tools Ive come to love are Curves, Hue & Saturation, Channel Mixer, High-Pass Filter, Un-Sharp Mask and the Blending modes you can colour correct, tone, shrapen, soften and blur most images to your hearts content with these tools

[qtox91]

the first thing i do when i open an imae is use the curves and put a small s curve in it. works like a charm

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by qtox91

the first thing i do when i open an imae is use the curves and put a small s curve in it. works like a charm

Im havent really used the curves feature what is the benefit you get from adding the S curve to your image. I usually just use the levels so I'm curious.

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by lynweber

Im havent really used the curves feature what is the benefit you get from adding the S curve to your image. I usually just use the levels so I'm curious.

Curves is more flexible. Everything you do in Levels can also be done in Curves, but with a more precise ability to change specific ranges of luminosity. Basically, you can choose how to "squeeze" or "stretch" different ranges of brightness based on what's in the image. Levels is a hammer, Curves is tweezers.

[lynweber]

Originally Posted by dcclark

Curves is more flexible. Everything you do in Levels can also be done in Curves, but with a more precise ability to change specific ranges of luminosity. Basically, you can choose how to "squeeze" or "stretch" different ranges of brightness based on what's in the image. Levels is a hammer, Curves is tweezers.

I think i may have to watch a tutorial on this on as I'm not sure which way to move the curve.

[teaking]

One thing I love with curves is that if you set it as an adjustment layer and set its blending mode to luminosity it will only effect the brightness of the image giving full control of contrast with out effecting colour. Its really handy if you want to increase contrast in the skin you can go to the curves, select the red channel and add a curve to increase just the contrast.

[dcclark]

Here is one useful tutorial on Curves: Curves Tutorial. It's good especially because it describes how to "squeeze" or "stretch" an images's dynamic range using curves.

The fundamental idea of curves is that you're telling the program how to change brightness values. That is, you specify what each level of brightness should become -- brighter, darker, or the same -- and by how much. That's also what Levels does, but Curves is more flexible. The classic "S-curve" does two things: it lightens the hilights, and darkens the shadows, effectively increasing the overall contrast in the image. It's not always the right choice, but it frequently helps remove the overall dull, greyish tone that many images have straight out of the camera.