Photoshop CS3 RAW

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CHAPTER SEvEn

USING CAMERA RAW TONE CURVES FOR MORE CONTROL

The tonal controls of Camera Raw’s Basic tab redistribute linear

RAW data produced by digital cameras into a form pleasing to the

eye. You can get even more control over how this data is mapped

with the Camera Raw tone curves. You have two tone curves to

choose from: Parametric and Point. Let’s see how they work.

Using Camera Raw

Tone Curves for

More Control

It’s generally recommended that you first

do your major editing in the Basic tab,

then use either the Parametric or Point

tone curves for fine tuning. You get to the

tone curves by clicking on the Tone Curve

icon (circled in Figure 7-1).

You’ll see two tabs: Parametric and Point.

Let’s start with the Parametric tone curve.

Using the Parametric Tone Curve

Just as with Photoshop’s Curves, the

horizontal axis represents the original

intensity values of the pixels, and the

vertical axis represents the new tonal

values.

With the Parametric tone curve, you

basically work with four set points:

Highlights, Lights, Darks, and Shadows.

Instead of placing a multitude of points

on the curve and dragging the curve to

a desired position, like you do with the

Point tone curve, you control the tonal

values with the sliders found under the

graph. What’s lacking in detailed control

is more than made up for in ease of use.

In Figure 7-2, I’ve adjusted the sliders to

produce a wide ...