Gimp- Curves Tool- Bite 5

The "curves tool" is one of those quick editing tools in Gimp that you will find yourself using a lot. It is a fast and excellent way to make adjustments to your pictures. In our previous posts I have talked about important short cuts to know and the importance of getting familiar with the selection tool. If you learn these, you will find Gimp much easier to use. The possibilities of editing photos and specific areas in a photo, open up all kinds of way to enhance your pictures. These are the foundations you will  always find yourself working from. The "curve tool" is the next big block in that foundation.


So how do I use the curve tool? If you followed my prior posts in this series, I briefly showed you the "curve tool in the "4th bite". To access the "curve tool" look for  the "colors" tab in your photos toolbar

Clicking on the Colors Tab will give you a drop down menu of selections, one of which is the "curves tool"

Simply select "curves" by clicking it on and the following  "curves tool" will open. It looks like a graph. If you haven't opened an image, now is the time to do so.

Simply Click your mouse anywhere along the graph line to create a point. Typically I always click in the middle of the line, then while holding the mouse down, drag upwards to lighten and downwards to darken your picture. You will find that you can drag your line in any direction. A slight  "s" curve supposedly will give you a better enhancement at times. 

The curves tool graph displays  the location  of your various  colors occurring in your photo via a histogram. To find out where the color of my shirt appears on the histogram above, I simply clicked that portion of the photo with my mouse. You will notice that a vertical x line will automatically  appear  on the curve's graph displaying  it's location. Now I can drag on that portion of the line which will display where that color appears. Dragging the line slightly up or down will make changes, however it may affect other areas of my photo too. In order to minimize the area effected I can create a new point to drag by clicking a point on each side of the vertical line in the histogram below. This way it will make slight adjustments to that color.  Below is an example of  a point I created. Simply drag your new mid point up or down to adjust. You will be able to see the change in your photo while you are doing it. If you like the results click ok. Always click  ctrl +Z  to "undo"

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You  will notice  in the "curve tool" above  where  I created new points on each side of the  vertical color  line. This line was automatically shown by the "curves tool" when I clicked on a particular  area  in the photo you see me using. In this case I clicked on the shirt I was wearing. I could have just as easily clicked on the water. Try clicking around the various points on the photo you are displaying and see where they fall on your histogram. Next try creating a point on each side of that vertical color line and play with adjusting it.

Once you become proficient using the selection tools,  especially the "path tool", going to the "curve tool"  will  be the next step to adjust various areas in all your photos. How many of us have that great shot of their family or friends  that have  faces  hidden by shadow. You will find that harmony   can be restored  in these photos using the "path tool" along with the "curve tool" in combination. I opt for using the "path tool" in selecting the area to edit because I find that outlining faces with the " ellipse tool " leaves an obvious line. With the "path tool"  I always  try to break my adjustment off on a hat, the person's hair or neckline where the clothing meets. I can then use the "smudge tool" to erase some of the more obvious lines without touching the face. This way most will never even notice the photo had been touched up.  I'll touch on the Smudge Tool , Healing Tool and Clone Tool in an upcoming post.

Once again I would like to reiterate that my purpose in writing these posts is to get you using Gimp quickly. There are great videos, tutorials and other post that go more into detail on what I have mentioned. All I'm doing here is throwing you the keys and telling you to start driving. You can worry about the mechanics and the fine points of Gimp later. I just want you to get a feel for Gimp and the amazing ride it can take you on. This concludes my brief description of the " curves tool"