Using the Curves, Levels and Vibrance tools in Photoshop

     In this week's set of Lynda tutorial videos, we learned how to use the adjustment layers in Photoshop and then how to navigate InDesign. For this assignment, I wanted to display the Curves, Levels and Vibrance Photoshop tools in being able to enhance the way that a photo looks. 

     This is my original photograph. As you can see, the colors are extremely bland and this is just an overall poor quality image. I will use the above mentioned Photoshop tools to enhance this shot. 

     First, I used the Curves tool, which can be used to increase the contrast of the image. This is, in a way, what I did here. I used the Enhance Per Channel Contrast auto tool which can also be considered "Auto Tone". This tool balances each of the RGB tones and creates a more balanced color contrast. The Snap Neutral Midtones tool helps to remove a color cast, which tries to bring out a neutral color. These tools helped to neutralize the photo but also make the color and quality more clear. 

     Next, I used the Levels tool to darken the image. The Levels tool is also a Toner and it displays all of the color pigments on a histogram. Within this histogram, it shows how dark the colors are versus how light they are. For this photo, I used the midtone slider to darken the image and push a majority of the values closer to pure black.  

   Finally, I used the vibrance adjustment layer to subtly bring out the colors within the shot. I slid the slider up to +30, which brought out the green in the grass and plants and it made the little girl's skin and hair look more sun kissed. The Vibrance adjustment layer is an alternative to the Saturation tool because it is not as intense and it will not ruin your photo by adjusting the sliders up or down.