Curves give you the most precise control over tone and color in DaVinci Resolve. The Custom curve shapes contrast; the hue curves let you change one specific color without touching the rest. Here is how to use both.
Open the Curves palette. Add a point in the highlights and pull up, add one in the shadows and pull down — a gentle S-shape that adds filmic contrast. Lift the very bottom point slightly for softer, film-like blacks.
Switch the Custom curve to the Red, Green or Blue channel to tint specific tonal ranges — for example lifting blue in the shadows for a cool base while leaving highlights warm.
Use Hue vs Hue to rotate one color into another: click the color you want to change, then drag to shift its hue. Great for nudging an off orange sky or fixing a slightly green wall.
Hue vs Sat boosts or mutes the saturation of one color (calm down a loud red jacket). Lum vs Sat controls saturation by brightness — pulling saturation out of the very brightest tones keeps highlights from looking neon.
Curves are powerful enough to wreck an image fast. Make small adjustments, and put big creative curve moves on their own node so you can dial them back.
On the Custom curve, pull the highlights up slightly and the shadows down to make a soft S-shape. The steeper the S, the more contrast. Lift the bottom point a touch for softer blacks.
It lets you shift one specific hue to another without affecting other colors — for example turning a slightly orange sky more blue, or correcting a color cast on one object.
Lum vs Sat changes saturation based on brightness. A common use is pulling saturation out of the brightest highlights so they do not look artificially colorful.