How to edit Black and White Photographs using curves and the basic panel in Lightroom

Today's is the first video I post where I show you how I edit. The theme is editing Black and White Photographs but the methods I share in this video are precursors to a color work flow video that I want to share in about 4-6 weeks from now. I don't think I'm sharing anything revolutionary but it's information that I wished someone would have shared with me a long time ago. I recently had a few breakthroughs when it comes to editing and in this video I share with you these breakthroughs without holding back. I can't guarantee that this video and the breakthroughs that I share in it will change your editing process like it has done for me, but I think that it can serve as a catalyst for a lot of people to grow in their editing styles. I share with you how changing my perspective of the tone curve and approaching it in a completely different way has completely simplified it's use for me. It's no longer this mysterious, ever so elusive, unattainable tool that gives me anxiety when I want to use it :) And while I very specifically show you how I'm now using the tone curve (as it relates to black and white photography, though the same can be applied to color), I think one of those most incredible principles I share in this video, the one with the capacity to allow you to develop whatever style you'd like to achieve is the concept of analyzing your favorite photographs. This is such a HUGELY beneficial exercise! By doing this, I was able to see what my photos are lacking in regards to mood, wardrobe, the type of light that I use, the type of light that I want to experiment, the emotions that resonate with me but more specifically in regards to this video, it served as a catalyst to teach me how different styles are composed of different tone palettes. We often think of color palettes but we disregard or completely take for granted tone palettes. In other words, where we put the tones of our subjects determines the contrast and style of our photographs. Once we've studied enough photos and we know how to measure their tone Palette's, we can expose our photographs in camera to fit a specific style and then edit with intention thus creating consistency in our work flow. Also, another thing I didn't mention in the video is that once you learn to use the tone curve in the way I'm sharing with you in this video, you'll be able to edit consistently even when you find yourself editing on a different computer or screen, where your eyes are not accustomed to that screen. You will be relying on the measurement of your tones vs just your eyes (which are great when using the eyeball method, but can often times let you down. especially after looking at the computer screen for a while). Another benefit of this method is that when you go to print your work, your results will be more consistent and more accurate. When we look at our screens, because they are backlit things may seem brighter than they are and using this method will allow you to place images where they need to be consistently for print work. There is a lot of really valuable information here that I would have happily paid for in the past and I'm sharing it without holding back. I hope you enjoy or enjoyed this video and join me the Sunday after this video posts for Part 2 in which i share with you my photoshop workflow.