Colour wheels versus Colour curves

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Level 1

107 points

Colour wheels versus Colour curves

Working with a lot of footage that has a dense blacks. If I use the Wheels I can pull up the 'Shadows' a tiny bit, and dip the 'Midtones', which gives me more information from the shadows, but doesn't start to look smokey.

I can do the same with 'Curves'. I'm wondering if there is a difference between lifting the Shadows with the 'Wheels', or with the 'Curves'? Is there more control with the curves, or can I get the deepest shadows up a bit without incurring the smokey look?

Or am I getting the same results with the 'Wheels'?; which keeps things simpler.

All ears, Ben

MacBook Pro (2021)

Posted on Aug 8, 2023 5:51 AM

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Answer 1

Ben Low Author

Level 1

107 points

Aug 8, 2023 6:08 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Original (below). These look a bit dark when I bring them into the Apple Forum. The originals on my Apple Studio screen appear brighter. Might just be all this white real estate around the image.

Below: slightly tweaked by pulling up shadows, adding a bit of highlight, and pulling down the mids to keep it from getting 'smokey'. I can't pull up the highlights for most of the shots because there are bright computer screens in the background.

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