Niagara~! A curves/levels tutorial for better looking amateur photos.

Recently my friends got bitten by the shutterbug and started taking pictures with their spanking new digicams. So I thought maybe an amateur could give another some tips. So here it is: I can't think of other ways of turning mediocre pictures into better ones than the curve and levels tools found in good image-editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Fireworks, which is used here.


I took this picture of the American Falls (part of the Niagara) with a disposable film camera under a bright afternoon. I don't think anyone would use their expensive cameras near the falls and getting them wet from the mist and spray. (I got SOAKED even though I was wearing the souvenir raincoat!)

Naturally, you can see that the mist got to the lens and the picture is wahed out with white. You get a sense of the majesty of the waterfall but little else. Not very interesting.

So I applied the levels tool on the picture. The curves tool works the same way too. The idea is to increase the contrast of the colours or make the dark spots darker and the colours brighter. The picture would look better with a wider range of shades - in the dark, middle and bright ranges.

Ok, this is not a comprehensive tutorial. Just fiddle with the levels/curves controls on a copy of your picture. Be sure to check the preview checkbox in the popup dialog box to see the changes as you play with the controls. Experiment!


Jaa! Now the blue sky stands out more, like the kind you get with a polarized lens. There's more detail in the picture - the people and the birds appear to contrast with the massive fall. Now you just need to imagine the deep roaring sound of the gushing waters! (Nothing, of course, beats the experience of being there :)

Alrightey, I hope this has been helpful for all! Here's a link for more technical information on the levels/curve tools.