In this lesson we'll explore how the most foundational sliders in Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom and Lightroom Classic really work. Instead of moving sliders on a photo, I'll compare each of the basic sliders (Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites and Blacks) to its equivalent Curves adjustment in Photoshop. You'll see exactly which brightness range each slider changes, how it blends that change into the rest of the image, and where it makes detail easier or harder to see, along with the real difference between similar-sounding sliders like Whites and Highlights or Blacks and Shadows.

To see how a document like the one used in this lesson is built, watch Curves Comparison Concept.