I have been using Photoshop for as long as I have been shooting with a digital camera, which is 6 years this summer. Over the years, I have been fielding questions about how I edit my images. Finally, I am letting others in on my Photoshop secrets. The key to making my photos look the way they do is Photoshop Curves.

Over the weekend, I created an Etsy shop so that lovely readers like you can take make improve the look and feel of your own photographs. I wanted to keep these curves affordable, starting at $7.50CAD. And for the rest of this week, blog readers will enjoy a special discount, just use the coupon code - JITLOVE - and get 20% off of your purchase. I stocked the shop with 4 of my most frequently used curves:

Kingston: I spent four years living in Kingston Canada, a city with long, dark winters. In those dark seasons, the photographs I captured would turn out to be darker than I liked. Living in Kingston inspired me to create this curve. With a gentle effect, it is my go to curve for any photograph. I call it the Photoshop curve for lazy photographers. ($7.50CAD) <click to purchase>



Seattle: I grew up a few hours outside of Seattle and visited frequently. Every memory of mine of the city is full of rain and dramatic clouds. Seattle inspired the photoshop curve of the same name. The effect adds drama to an image by darkening the shadows. This curve creates best to create a dark mood and emphasis blue tones of a photograph. ($7.50CAD) <click to purchase>



Oslo: Oslo is one of my favorite cities to photograph because of its vibrant street scene. I created this photoshop curve to give the same pop of brightness and color to my images. Compared to its sister curve - Kingston - this curve adds much more noticeable brightness and vibrance to an image. It works on a variety of images and conditions. ($7.50CAD) <click to purchase>



Napa: After a weekend in Napa Valley, I fell in love with the warmth of the always sunny Napa and orange flow it casts on everything. I created this curve, Napa, to add warmth and a beautiful sun glow to my images. This curve will bring flat images to life. ($10.00CAD) <click to purchase>


I hope you will drop by my Etsy store for a purchase, and hurry because you can get 20% off when you make your purchase this week, just use the coupon code - "JITLOVE". 

And here's how to use the curves in photoshop:

1)

after purchase, the curves will be sent to you a file. download the curves to either one of these locations:

for PC – C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [your version]\Presets\Curves
for MAC – User/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [your version]/Presets/Curves

2) this step is borrowed from a fellow photographer Julia Trotti

for mac:

- open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
- press command + m to open the curves window
- open the little box next to the "presets" bar
- choose the option "load preset", and find the curve you downloaded


windows:

- open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
- press command + m to open the curves window
- press the "load" button
- find your downloaded curve and press "ok"

Happy photo editing!

I remember the day I first discovered curves in Photoshop. It was like discovering Pandora’s box. It took my entire world of photography to another level. Now I process every one of my photos with curves – at least 1 and often times several.

I make my own curves now but I’m always eager to learn from the curves that other people create. There’s been several instances where generous photographers have shared their curves for free downloads! Here are a few of my favourites that I want to share with you… And remember, if you like any of them, do consider purchasing some from any of these lovely talents and help them fund their work

From Julia Trotti: Ghosts in Your Head

From Kitty Gallannaugh: Untitled

From Nirrimi: Great Grandma

Step One

For Mac:

- open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
- press command + m to open the curves window
- open the little box next to the "presets" bar
- choose the option "load preset", and find the curve you downloaded

For Windows:

- open photoshop and the picture you want to edit
- press command + m to open the curves window
- press the "load" button
- find your downloaded curve and press "ok"

Step Two

For mac, presets are located here:
~/library/application support/adobe/adobe photoshop/presets/

For windows, presets are located here:
c:\program files\adobe\adobe photoshop\presets\

- copy the curves you downloaded and paste them into the "curves" folder.