I’m going to start this essay with a provocative statement: Anyone who is, or wants to be doing image editing at a professional level needs to be as comfortable with Curves as they are with breathing. Is that bold enough? Do I have your attention now? If I were forced to give up all but one image adjustment tool, the one I would keep would be Curves. Think of Curves as your one shopping source for improving images the way the pros do.
Let’s clear up some misconceptions right away:
- Curves are not a filter
- Curves are not hard to understand
- Mastering Curves will make you dramatically more productive
