Correct The Exposure: Dynamic Range

Step 3: Correct The Exposure With Curves

The same adjustments can be made using the curves tool:

As you can see, the extremes of the curve were moved to match with the histogram. The curves tool has the advantage that it can be used also for zones inside the histogram. If you have gaps in histogram values, you can adjust this by placing 2 control points on the curve and than adjust the curve to be horizontal above that missing zone.

Unfortunately, fixing the dynamic range using the histogram does not produce always the desirable result. If this is your case, using the techniques presented in Multiply & Screen Blending Modes and Shadows & Highlights tutorials may bring your photo to life.

Levels and curves are prime tools for image editing in The GIMP. Remove Color Cast: Levels & Curves Tools tutorial uses also these tools.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you find it useful!
By the way, if by any chance you do not know already, The GIMP is a completely free alternative to Photoshop and it runs under Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

Thanks for reading!