Luminar Neo: Confused about Curves? This Will Help.

[@devroombagchus7460]

Thanks Jim. This was something I always wanted to understand, but was too afraid to ask!👐👍

[@JimNix]

Thanks Robert and glad it helps! Thanks for watching!

[@clarification007]

Jim, thanks to be so faithful with us! Very few do that!

[@JimNix]

thank you for watching!

[@Lykzabet]

Looking forward to the deep dive curves Vid also Jim

[@JimNix]

thanks much and I will work on one for sure

[@JoeB_BSc]

Hi Jim, Seasons Greetings and thanks for the excellent and thorough explanation of curves, Joe

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Joe and happy holidays to you as well!

[@edrambeau1534]

That was one of the best descriptions of the curves tool I’ve ever seen or heard. Thanks so much for that, Jim. Greatly Appreciated.

[@JimNix]

oh awesome, thanks so much and glad it helped!

[@Lykzabet]

Ditto thx Jim

[@JimNix]

@@Lykzabet thank you!

[@gregorychard]

G'day Jim If I can remember correctly, photoshop in it's early years (35+ years ago), curves was probably the only tool that was available. I used curves a lot back then, but gradually I migrated to exposure tools. You brought back memories to me. Havagooday Greg

[@JimNix]

haha thanks Greg for watching!

[@williamschone9358]

Jim, very helpful. I would also like to throw in a vote for a video on split toning. I always find your illustrations very helpful. Thanks.

[@JimNix]

thanks much William and I will get a split toning video together in Neo for sure, hopefully soon-ish

[@claudephaneuf5679]

Great video again and by the your photo in Iceland is awsome.

[@JimNix]

thank you so much Claude!

[@morrieglick4137]

Excellent video as usual. Yes, please produce a video on split toning.

[@JimNix]

thanks much Morrie and the split toning video is coming soon!

[@thomasocheltree4170]

Thanks so much. Well done.👍 Split toning sounds interesting..

[@JimNix]

thanks much Thomas and I will cover split toning for sure

[@charlesdavis6371]

looking back at some of your older (6 mo) stuff - and this is a great one. The best part is that this info is applicable to so many different software packages, not just Neo. Very helpful - thank you.

[@JimNix]

thanks Charles and glad you found this one helpful!

[@andrewmckinney3053]

Many thanks, Jim, for another highly useful tutorial! A great refresher for me :)

[@JimNix]

thank you for watching Andrew!

[@buzzbladz7142]

Hi Jim, thanks for the tutorial, I have decided to pull the trigger and get neo from this video alone. A video on split toning would be amazing. Liked and subbed and looking forward to more. Thanks👍 Edit: found it, cheers.

[@JimNix]

Thanks so much Buzz, I appreciate it and more soon on Neo, and glad you found the split toning video, hope you enjoy it!

[@philipperry1]

Great video which I found super helpful as a relative novice to photo editing. I do find I have to watch your videos a few times as you speak very fast and cover a lot of ground in every video. Keep up the excellent content though Jim as I'm learning lots quickly with your help!

[@JimNix]

Thanks for watching Philip and yes, I get a bit excited bc this is all so fun for me, which means I end up going a bit fast at times. Plus, there is usually a lot to cover and I don't want to waste anyone's time. You can always click on the gear icon on the video and change the playback speed if you want to. Thanks for watching and glad these have helped!

[@dougtunison]

Excellent tutorial on curves!

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Doug!

[@robertmeyerson1618]

Thanks, Jim. Looking forward to making Curves part of my NEO workflow...

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Robert!

[@williambrennan2526]

Thank you, Jim. Very good discussion about curves.

[@JimNix]

thank you William!

[@andreask.6872]

Excellently explained. Now that you can use the curves tool in Luminar NEO multiple times and in conjunction with masks it becomes even more powerful. It is really worthwhile to become familiar with this tool.

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Andreas and yes good point!

[@pedrferreira]

Very good, i did learn about curves i started to use more after i saw your videos, greetings from Portugal keep making stuff about luminar neo.

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Pedro and more Neo videos coming soon!

[@garysmith5838]

Great tutorial on a seldom used tool, but very effective one. Thank you.

[@JimNix]

thank you for watching Gary!

[@dale4377]

Great tutorial Jim. I've always been unsure how to use curves, so have ignored it. This is a big help. Split toning tutorial; yes please.

[@JimNix]

ok great glad this helped Dale, thanks!

[@Alex-wm7iq]

Thanks for straightening me out Jim as sometimes this feature has driven me around the bend :)

[@JimNix]

haha thanks for watching Alex!

[@jancusters2450]

Excellent explanation! Thanks! Now I know more about curves!

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Jan!

[@Pierceb2]

Jim great video on using the histogram. Where I get in trouble is when I try to do too much and can’t figure how to undo it and reset or back out of the changes. Your explanation helped a lot and I will watch again while making my adjustments. Like you talked about you don’t try to fix it all in the histogram and I need to know / learn when to stop. Subscribed and like your videos a lot.

[@JimNix]

thank you so much for watching and glad you enjoy my vids!

[@ncc1701BB]

This is great. Thank you for the time you have invested in educating all of us. Focusing on one tool within the app is so helpful.

[@JimNix]

thanks much for watching William!

[@thecragus]

Thanks, just what I needed. Love Neo .... (even in beta)

[@JimNix]

glad this was helpful and thanks for watching!

[@cynical1952]

Thank you for your clear explanation Jim and certainly worth experimenting with this powerful section of Neo.

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Steve!

[@JimBailey]

Thank you so much Jim, that really cleared things up for me. Super video. Have a great weekend. :)

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Jim!

[@haroldneale3569]

Thanks Jim

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Harold!

[@dronelandingzone]

Thank you for this! I was really weak on curves and how to make the best use of them! Truly appreciate you putting all this together!

[@JimNix]

I'm glad this one helped, thanks for watching!

[@sarniasurfer]

That was great Jim. What I picked up from this is that the anchoring pts actually work as masking would. So much to learn but with your help, I think we'll get there. Thanks again.

[@JimNix]

Glad you enjoyed this Frank and yes it does allow you to isolate areas, sort of like masking. Thanks!

[@steveschneider6150]

I have watched your videos on the curves tool over the last few years - and every time I gain a little more understanding. My first exposure to curves was several years ago in a Photoshop class at the local community college. That instructor took a quite different approach. He mentioned the color curves but focused on the gray curve and he started out bu moving the bottom sliders toward the center to eliminate the portions of the curve that were down near the access. He indicated that he did this to eliminate areas that were blown out or black. He then used the anchor points to make further adjustments. That approach seemed to work on the examples he used in class - but any real world pictures I had never quite worked out real well. Bottom line, I guess curves is really as you say a "feel" tool - and it takes a lot of playing with it to truly get comfortable with it.

[@JimNix]

thanks much for watching and yes it's very much "feel" for me, but then again so is the rest of my editing 😀- I appreciate you checking out the video!

[@alanrabinoff8479]

Jim , you have a way of explaining the formerly (at least to me) inexplicable. Thank you for this video on curves.

[@JimNix]

thanks Alan and glad I can help make sense of these things for you - I appreciate you watching!

[@kenalexander8714]

Many thanks for this Jim and a good introduction . Clearly a powerful tool and needs practice to get a real feel for it.

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Ken and yes definitely takes some practice to get really comfortable with it

[@thaulovfoto]

Nice. Thanks Jim

[@JimNix]

thanks much Thaulov!

[@timshields8720]

Brilliant!!! Yes please more curve videos would be GREAT!! THANK YOU

[@JimNix]

thanks Tim and I will do more for sure!

[@timshields8720]

@@JimNix hands down, even when it comes to the official luminar representatives, you are doing the BEST JOB explaining this Awesome product. Ive learnt everything i know from you. You deserve a ruddy trophy or something. Watching every single one of your videos from NEW ZEALAND. Thanks again mate!

[@JimNix]

@@timshields8720 oh thanks so much, that's greatly appreciated 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@GerryLaneMusic]

Thank you so much Jim for this Curves video, absolutely awesome! The Curves tab was always a bit of a mystery to me but after watching this video….I’ll be using it a lot more! Thank you Jim for this and all the other great videos that you’ve done.

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Gerry, I am glad it helped!

[@RonaldBrown59]

First things first, I would love to see a beginners guide to split toning. And thanks so much for the Curves tutorial, I use the Curves tool already, but I picked up a few things from your video that I want to try on my next edit. Great video Jim, and thanks for sharing,

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Ron and split toning video is coming soon!

[@Santamike212]

Thank you

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching!

[@nickb4736]

Another great tutorial Jim. Thanks

[@JimNix]

thanks so much Nick!

[@fjperras]

Cool! You might have solved my cyan problem in AuroraHDR. I just tried your curve trick on a HDR image and by playing a tiny bit with red and blue curves in the highlights, it appears to be improving the image. Imagine if Skylum would also add an eyedropper such by clicking on the image, it would add a dot at the right spot in the currently selected curve! Thank you for sharing.

[@JimNix]

Ah, yes that would work Frederic, thanks for sharing and watching!

[@leoomer3140]

Excellent tutoriel.Thank you very much. I

[@JimNix]

thank you Leo!

[@MWTH37]

Thank You really helps to understand

[@JimNix]

Glad it's helpful, thanks for watching!

[@whooptydj]

Thanks Jim!

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching!

[@brianbracherphotography]

Thanks for this Jim. I occasionally use tone curves but never tried with the colour channels. Off to do some testing 👍

[@JimNix]

thanks Brian and have fun with it!

[@charlesmargrave6320]

The curves tool in windows 11 is same in all aspects as you show in tutorial. However, the histogram is missing. Hope that is coming in final rendition of NEO.

[@JimNix]

Thanks for letting me know and I hope it's in the final version too!

[@kym-bid-bidstrup3623]

I have experienced this too on a PC, Charles. Fingers crossed for the release version, eh?

[@bussty3247]

Yep not there, hard to believe...

[@ThomasSielaff]

Split toning please. Thank you.

[@JimNix]

I will cover it soon for sure, thanks!

[@steveboring5186]

Jim, as usual, great video. Your explanation and Neo has been particularly helpful to me and curves & layers. I man real estate photography and currently use Aurora HDR and then tweak it With Luminar AI. As I learn more I realize that some of the things I'm doing now will probably change to things that are faster and improved. I'm a retired engineer and following my passion for photography.

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching!

[@KARENOBORN]

Hi..Yes would like a video on split colour

[@CarpFishingUK]

Great video Jim I picked up a few good tips from it, only thing is I don’t see the histogram in my curves panel in Luminar neo is there a setting to enable this?

[@JimNix]

Hi Michael, thanks much and there is not a way to enable it. I have heard from others that it isn't there on the PC, I guess only Mac at this time in beta. I am hopeful it's there for everyone when it launches. Thanks.

[@geraldhill5496]

A split toning tutorial would be great... thanks.

[@WilliamWallaceRoss]

Wow! I never knew I could do so much with Curves, so, I have a lot of experimentation to do. Thanks, Jim, for the help in understanding how this part of NEO works. This will apply to AI as well, should I feel the need to use that, until NEO is finally released, hopefully, later this month.

[@JimNix]

thanks much and yes it operates the same in AI as it does in Neo!

[@Centauri27]

Great overview Jim! I'll be sure to use Curves more often now. Can you do a video comparing Curves vs Color Harmony vs HSL? When you would choose one over the other, etc.? That would be really helpful!

[@JimNix]

Thanks much Carl, and I appreciate the video suggestion. I have a video about color coming out this morning, but not on your topic. But I will add that to the list for the future. Thanks!

[@destonerock3499]

Split tone vid👍🏽

[@JimNix]

coming out for sure, thanks!

[@TufferImages]

Great tutorial Jim. Just wondering does Neo have Blend Ranges for layers, like Affinity Photo? I'd like to see more on Split Toning.

[@JimNix]

thanks Chris and it does not have layers in this version (still in beta) but it will have Layers when it launches, so I hope to know more soon but I am expecting blend modes - and I will do a video on split toning for sure!

[@jamessulester]

Luminar seems to be emphasizing use develop first because they placed it first. In the past I thought they emphasized using enhance first. What is your opinion? Curves are tricky and I do check them but I also like your tip about color harmony. That seems easier than using color in curves. I do like to use the white in curves.

[@JimNix]

Thanks much James and yes I think they are taking a slightly different approach here, and perhaps a bit more focused on mid to advanced users with this product, which is great. So for sure use Develop first. thanks!

[@ivanfojan8859]

Very informative. Thanks Jim :)

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Ivan!

[@danschreckengost6153]

Great job

[@JimNix]

thank you Dan!

[@JoeB_BSc]

Hi Jim, please consider one of your helpful tutorials on the use of the histogram. Thanks and Regards JB

[@JimNix]

Hi JB and I will cover that once they add the histogram to Neo, which I think will be soon-ish. Thanks.

[@kym-bid-bidstrup3623]

Brilliant. Thanks, Jim. In 15 mins I've gone from not having any idea about CURVES -- I mean none! -- to understanding the basics, the possibilities AND being keen to try them.... One query; the controls work in my (latest edition) in Curves but the HISTOGRAM is not visible. Am I missing a step? Or is this a bug?

[@JimNix]

Thanks Kym and not sure about the missing histogram, are you on a PC? It seems that is not in the PC version based on other comments. I am hopeful it is in the final launch version for everyone bc it is important to have there. Thanks and glad this helped!

[@kym-bid-bidstrup3623]

@@JimNix I am on a PC, Jim. Thank you. That's actually somewhat reassuring. And again, thanks for the great tutorial on Curves....

[@JimNix]

@@kym-bid-bidstrup3623 thanks for watching!

[@alangauld6079]

Another use of curves in Neo early access is that it's the only way to see the histogram since there is no separate histogram view(yet)!

[@JimNix]

LOL true

[@MrMoonpie001]

Hi Jim, enjoy your videos!!! Hey, is there a way to mask out effects on the curves tab??? Split view video would be good too!!! Thank you for all you do! Moonpie

[@JimNix]

Hi Moonpie and thanks. You can use Develop multiple times, since Neo allows that, and then mask in effects each time to different parts of the image. Split toning video coming soon. Thanks!

[@jimford5936]

Need info on split toning

[@JimNix]

Here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ3dlqJ6idyDq6c

[@acehanson7231]

Thanks for another great vid

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching Ace!

[@rskulas]

Split tone video please. Thanks

[@JimNix]

You can find that here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ3dlqJ6idyDq6c

[@TC_Conner]

I cut my tone curve teeth beginning with Lightroom version 4, many years ago. But I never started editing my photo using it first as you did in this video. Are you suggesting editing first with the tone curve then making all your other edits? I do most all my basic edits first then I’ll do an “S” curve with tone. This was another great video Jim, thanks!

[@JimNix]

Thanks much TC and no I don't necessarily think you should start with Curves, but I would start with Develop. Curves is a great complement to other things you can do in Develop. Thanks!

[@TC_Conner]

@@JimNix I always start in Develop module, after I select what profile I want. 😎

[@JimNix]

@@TC_Conner yep makes sense

[@azymighthh6835]

oh that is what curves for .. i thot it is something about advance cropping of photo, curving frame etc. never look at it.

[@JimNix]

Yep, it's a very powerful editing tool.

[@charlesmargrave6320]

This is scarry. After quitting all things adobe, I finally picked On1 for my central control of DAM and raw processing. Use luminar Ai for sky etc. Now comes along NEO. I copied my Photo library to an external HD drive then used it as a NEO go to for cataloging. 35307 files and could not believe how fast the catalog build was. Now discovering all that NEO (prebuild) can do and will this replace my go to On1? The jury is still out but considering just that.

[@JimNix]

Thanks Charles and yes Neo is going to be quite good I think. But do keep in mind that the catalog in Neo is not as advanced as the one that's in On1. Neo (at this point at least, not sure about the future) does not have keywording, or very advanced export or print options, etc. While I love Neo and it is my favorite product, it's not as robust as On1 in that area. But for sure I will have my catalog in it too. 😁

[@MOAB-UT]

Can't wait for NEO to officially launch. I've been playing around- learning the basics. Is there an order of operations to editing? I find that I adjust many things but then when I do other things like sliders and S curves it over rides previous edits especially contrast and brightness. Do you like NEO better than AI? I am also using Affinity and like it for Pano and Exposure Compensation.

[@JimNix]

Thanks for watching and I always start with Develop, and generally move down the tool stack in order, using the tools I feel I need to use. I do like Neo much better than AI as it has more flexibility and capability. Thanks much.

[@MOAB-UT]

@@JimNix Thank you. Looking forward to the upcoming release. My vacation pics should look great!

[@JimNix]

@@MOAB-UT enjoy your vacation!

[@MOAB-UT]

@@JimNix Thanks. It will be a photography/hiking tour of the great West- Death Valley, Zion NP and Moab, UT.

[@JimNix]

@@MOAB-UT awesome

[@rickwisephotography]

Jim, does NEO have blending options for curves? I have used luminosity blending mode in the past so only the conraast is effected and not the color.

[@JimNix]

HI Rick and no that is not an option in Neo at this time, hopefully in the future.

[@bySterling]

POW!!erful indeed 💪🏻💥💻⚡️👍🏻

[@JimNix]

thanks for watching!

[@JimBailey]

Hi Jim me again. Quick question Using Luminar Neo. I have a photo I was testing the power line removal and it worked perfect, then i had a line down the center of the road and went to remove it with the remove tool. When finished, it left a line of little bumps down the road in place of the white line. Tried it a few times and it did the same each time. I took the same photo over to Luminar AI and tried it and it worked perfect, completely remove the line with no bumps. Have you run into this problem with Luminar Neo? Thank you very much.

[@JimNix]

Hi Jim and I have not tried to remove any lines from a road, so no I have not seen that. Perhaps send the pic to their support team to see if they can use it to refine the eraser. That may help. It may also be improved in the final version, we will see pretty soon. Sorry I can't be of more help here. thanks!

[@AffordablePhotography]

Too bad you can't use a mask with Curves. That way you could just paint in the affect only to those areas that you want it.

[@JimNix]

If you use Develop a 2nd time you could do that.

[@wielpaquay1932]

Haha, Zappa

[@JimNix]

😁

[@lonnieharmond9400]

And this did not work on Windows NEO. So I tried this in Luminar AI. OOPS! Will not reset bottom line center dot! So one has to do it manually and whatever adjustment that has been made will stay. I worked a photo in NEO and brought it into AI...nope, had huge magenta tonal effect. I know It's beta! I do have a very high end windows computer. So it may not be that. I know NEO is in beta but AI is not. I guess I am the only one with Luminar problems. I'll give them one more chance whenever they release the program, since I bought it, but have my doubts that they are capable of making it work in Windows as well as it does in MAC. I can tell that it is being designed on a MAC and Windows is an afterthought. There are other options out there but I like the work flow of Luminar. I will carefully check the other editors and probably quit Luminar for good. Thank you for your great videos!

[@JimNix]

I'm sorry it hasn't been as good fro you p to this point, and am hopeful that the launch version meets your expectations. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@phlotographer]

@@JimNix once there is a release, it would be nice if someone would create a list and include it each time in the initial comments about how the MAC version differs from the PC version. I think when I posted last year I had 8 items and now I have seen the problems noted here in two different comments. Same price but not the same product -- at least so far. Subscribed to your newsletter a few minutes ago.

[@JimNix]

@@phlotographer thanks for subbing and yes I am hopeful that Skylum will produce a list, if there are differences. But mostly I hope there are not any differences. 😀