# Adjusting ends of the tone curve



## andybraithwaite

Hi all,

I've hunted around for the answer to this to no avail.

I'm trying to move the very ends of the tone curve. I've seen it done in a few presets I've used, but can't figure out how to change it myself? Every tutorial I find just talks about the basics of moving the mid points... can't find out how to move the ends.

Looking to make a curve a bit like this:




Any ideas?

Thanks!


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## Hal P Anderson

Andy,

Welcome!

Click the button to go into Point Curve mode:



Hal


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## andybraithwaite

Ah! What an idiot. So obvious!

Thanks very much!


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## Hal P Anderson

Andy,

Not _that_ obvious. 

Hal


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## Manuductor

Thanks, Hal. How do I set points on the tone curve? Thanks.  Matt


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## Ian.B

Just click on the white line
you can move the dot along the line and up and down
I never use that way as I find moving the sliders easier
The Lights slider does the most for me -- sort of a mid tone brighter
I also use the Basic tools mostly and tone curves if finer adjustment is required 
I have the lights slider is set to around + 30 to 40 in most of my "first raw edit" presets 
Ask away if you need more information


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## Manuductor

Ian.B said:


> Just click on the white line
> you can move the dot along the line and up and down
> I never use that way as I find moving the sliders easier
> The Lights slider does the most for me -- sort of a mid tone brighter
> I also use the Basic tools mostly and tone curves if finer adjustment is required
> I have the lights slider is set to around + 30 to 40 in most of my "first raw edit" presets
> Ask away if you need more information



Thank you, Ian.  I have done that. What I was looking for was what I had seen in a Youtube video where the instructor clicked on three different spots on the white line, middle, 25, 75, and the line had the three white dots on it.  Then she moved one dot at a time to achieve a specific result in that specific area.

One mentor once advised me, when using Lightroom to edit, to slide the highlights slider all the way to the left and the shadows slider all the way to the right, then holding down the opt key, slide the lights slider until the triangle appears then pull back slightly, then do the same with the blacks slider  Then add a slight bit of clarity in landscapes.  He said that only rarely should I go to the tone curve, but I have found I get good results if I adjust the curve to a very modest s curve.  I sometimes click on the dot in the top left and play around with specific tones in the photo by clicking and dragging up or down, but my eyes are not sharp enough -- incipient glaucoma -- to notice subtle changes, so the result is gross.  I then go back to the modest s curve but am never satisfied.  I am concentrating on b&w photos and want to achieve that look of the Chinese mountain scenes.  A dream.  No where near it, but I keep trying.  Thanks for your help.  Matt


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## Jim Wilde

Click the button that Hal showed so that the sliders do not show. That's then the point curve interface, which does allow you to add points along the curve (which can be individually adjusted and moved), as well as move the end points. When the sliders are showing, that's the parametric curve interface, the curve can be adjusted either on the curve itself or by using the sliders.


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## Manuductor

Many thanks Jim.  I tend to be a jumper-in guy and rarely read manuals or directions, thus creating a world of hurt and trouble.  I miss the simple steps such as you have mentioned.  

Since I have your ear, I am concentrating on b&w photos and wonder whether you know of any websites or tutorials that might guide me in my pursuit.  Again, many thanks.  Matt


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## Ian.B

Manuductor said:


> Thank you, Ian.  I have done that. What I was looking for was what I had seen in a Youtube video where the instructor clicked on three different spots on the white line, middle, 25, 75, and the line had the three white dots on it.  Then she moved one dot at a time to achieve a specific result in that specific area.


Instead of "Alt"; you can also use the "J" key to turn the on screen clippings on and off.
Generally I just watch the triangles as you mentioned. 

Just found this and thought it might help you and others  
20 Lightroom tips on mastering the tone curve - Amateur Photographer

B/W: > always use raw colour when taking the photo > generally; don't use de-saturation > do basic colour editing first > there are times an overly saturated colour image is the better starting point > "V" will convert colour to b/w > white balance can be used to add adjustment to b/w > however it is colour channels where the real magic happens > .
 I find b/w far harder to edit than colour as there are so many variations with nothing being perfect for all; and that applied in darkroom days also 
The better teacher is bending the colour channel sliders to see what happens

Tip: set raw+jpeg in camera > set camera to b/w >> the raw file will be still in colour however the viewfinder/screen will show the scene as a de-saturated B/w.
I have a b/w link in mind and will post when/if I find it (??)

We are getting a bit off topic here


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## Manuductor

Thanks again, Ian.  My camera is a Leica M Monochrom 246 which has  no color filters, only a luminance sensor.  You could Google it if you are not familiar with it.  I use a Leica Summicron -M 1:2/50  mm lens. It's manual focus with an auto exposure that I test then push toward the right. And I always shoot raw. Gorgeous photos sooc. But I want to do more post processing to fine tune the photos.  So I will look at the link you provided.  Thanks.  Matt


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