Click on RED and bring the white slider and black slider in to part of the histogram where it starts to move upwards. This step will only work if there is a colour cast in your image. If there is no colour cast, the histogram will spread to the edges of the graph. The red areas in the screenshot above show you where there was no colour information.
By sliding the sliders inward to the edge of the graph, you will start to neutralize the colour cast. Part 2: You will notice that as you make these adjustments, your image may have a very strong colour cast of the channel you are adjusting.
Part 3: Once you have adjusted for the colour correction in all three colors, you can now adjust the exposure and contrast. In other words, you can use it to make the highlights, shadows and mid-tones brighter or darker — an all-in-one tool. The levels tool is really great to make some quick adjustments to your image, here is how:. Part 1: In the RGB channel, move the white slider in from the right to the edge of the histogram. Do the same for the black slider, adjusting it in to the edge of the histogram on the left.
This is called clipping and the best way to see if you are clipping any pixels is to hold down the ALT key when you are adjusting the white and black sliders. Once you have those two sliders adjusted, you can slide the mid tone slider to add some contrast to the scene and this will be the final touch to your levels adjustment.
The final adjustment showing colour correction and contrast correction. Like any tool in Photoshop, if levels is overdone, you will be able to see it in the image. So, be aware of over adjusting your image.
Since every photo's histogram is unique, there is no single way to adjust the levels for all your photos. A proper understanding of how to adjust the levels of an image histogram will help you better represent tones in the final image.
The levels tool can move and stretch brightness levels in a histogram using three main components: a black point, white point and midtone slider. The position of the black and white point sliders redefine the histogram's "Input Levels" so they are mapped to the "Output Levels" default is black 0 or white , respectively , whereas the midtone slider redefines the location of middle gray Each slider is shown below as they appear in Photoshop's levels tool, with added blue labels for clarity:.
All examples below will use the levels tool on an RGB histogram , although levels can also be performed on other types of histograms. Levels can be performed on an individual color channel by changing the options within the "Channel" box at the top.
When considering adjusting the black and white point levels of your histogram, ask yourself: is there any region in the image which should be completely black or white, and does the image histogram show this? Most images look best when they utilize the full range dark to light which can be displayed on your screen or in a print.
This means that it is often best to perform levels such that the histogram extends all the way from black 0 to white Images which do not extend to fill the entire tonal range often look washed out and can lack impact. The image below was taken in direct sunlight and includes both bright clouds and dark stone shadows — an example of where there should be at least some regions that are portrayed as nearly white or black.
This histogram can be extended to fill the entire tonal range by adjusting the levels sliders as shown:. On the other hand, be wary of developing a habit of simply pushing the black and white point sliders to the edges of the histogram — without also paying attention to the content of your image. Images taken in fog, haze or very soft light often never have fully black or white regions. Once again, the midtone slider had no effect on the black and white points, but the tones in between now appear darker.
Again, this seems like the opposite of what you might expect. Dragging the midtone slider towards white feels like it should be lightening the midtones, when in fact, it darkens them.
It's easy to get things mixed up with the midtone slider, so if you ever find yourself dragging it in the wrong direction, just stop, drag it in the opposite direction and say to the person looking over your shoulder, "Just checking to see if you're paying attention":.
Now that we've covered the details of how Photoshop's Levels adjustment works, let's take everything we've learned and use it to quickly improve the tonal range of an image.
Here's an old photo I've scanned into Photoshop. The image has faded over time and is now suffering from low contrast due to a lack of any real shadows or highlights. Even though I'll be correcting a black and white image here, you can use the exact same steps with full color images:. Using the same steps we covered earlier, since I'll be applying Levels as a static adjustment, the first thing I'll do is make a copy of the Background layer.
Photoshop makes the copy, names it "Layer 1" and places it above the Background layer:. Since it's always good to give layers descriptive names, I'll quickly double-click on the new layer's name "Layer 1" and change it to "Levels". We now have our copy of the image to work on so we're not making changes to the original:.
To add a Levels adjustment, I'll go up to the Image menu, choose Adjustments , and then choose Levels. Either way opens the Levels dialog box:. I'll zoom in on the histogram, and just like with the gradient we looked at earlier, this histogram is showing us that we currently have no black or white pixels in the image.
The left side of the gradient starts at a lighter than black shade of gray and the right side starts at a darker than white shade of gray. We have no detail at all in the darkest and lightest tones, which explains why the photo is lacking contrast:. As we've learned, there's three simple steps to correcting this image. First, we set a new black point.
Second, we set a new white point. And third, we lighten or darken the midtones as needed. I'll start with the black point by clicking on the black point slider and dragging it over to where the left edge of the histogram begins. Notice that the black point value in the box on the left increases from 0 to a level of This means Photoshop is going to take all the pixels that were originally at brightness level 42 and darken them to level 0, making them black:.
Here's the photo after setting the new black point. Already, things are looking better with deep, dark blacks and lots of detail in the shadows:. Next, I'll click on the white point slider and drag it over to where the right edge of the histogram begins.
If you look closely, you'll see that the histogram is showing a few pixels just before the steep rise in the histogram, but I'm not going to worry about those.
Instead, I'll drag the white point slider right up to where the bulk of the histogram begins. Notice that the white point value in the box on the right has decreased from level to level Photoshop will take all the pixels that were originally at level and brighten them to level , making them white:.
And here's the result. We've now corrected both the shadows and the highlights, giving the image a much needed boost in contrast:. We've adjusted the black point and the white point, but now the image is looking too dark overall. To fix that, all we need to do is lighten the midtones, and I can do that by clicking on the midtone slider and dragging it towards the left.
Small increases or decreases in the midtone value can make a big difference, so in most cases, you won't need to drag the slider very far. Here, I've increased the midtone value from it's default of 1. Unlike setting the black point and white point where it's easy to see where the left and right edges of the histogram begin, the midtones are a bit more subjective. You really need to keep an eye on the image as you drag the midtone slider and decide for yourself which setting looks best:.
Here's a couple of quick tips when working with Levels. If, at any time, you want to compare your adjustments with how the image looked originally, simply uncheck the Preview option in the dialog box.
With Preview unchecked, you'll see your original, uncorrected photo in the main document area. Click inside the checkbox again to turn the Preview option back on and view your adjusted version. You can also toggle the Preview option on and off by pressing the letter P on your keyboard:. This will change the Cancel button into a Reset button. Click the Reset button to reset the sliders:.
When you're happy with your adjustments, click OK in the Levels dialog box to commit them to the layer and close out of the Levels dialog box if you want to close out of the dialog box without applying your settings, click Cancel instead :. Once you've applied your settings, you can compare your adjusted version of the image with the original by clicking the visibility icon the eyeball icon for the Levels layer in the Layers panel:.
Clicking the visibility icon once will temporary hide the Levels layer in the document, revealing the original, uncorrected image:. And there we have it! In this tutorial, we covered the basics of how Photoshop's Levels adjustment works and how to apply it as a static adjustment to correct overall tonal problems in the shadows, highlights and midtones of an image.
Yet there's still more to learn! In the next tutorials, we'll explore the Auto button in Levels, the black point , white point and gray point eyedroppers , the important difference between the Input and Output sliders , and more! Plus, we'll learn how to apply Levels not as a static adjustment but as an editable, non-destructive adjustment layer , and new in Photoshop CC how to apply it as an editable Smart Filter! The left side of the histogram starts at a lighter than black shade of gray.
For small edits there isn't much difference between Elements and Picasa. So use what you are most comfortable with. Elements is a more complex program because you can do more stuff with it.
Note that while Google have shut down Picasa, they still have image editing facilities in Google Photos. Thanks David- do you ever sleep? Regarding Elements,: Have you seen my Elements course? I show you the most common processes photographers use. Hi David, i have only used auto settings in elements, but i now have the confidence to try the things i have learned from you.
I would like to thank you for your help and valuable advise and look forward to your emails for the next tip. My photography newsletter is packed with tips and tricks each and every week. These tips will help you master your camera and take simply stunning photos. You'll find yourself taking better shots by using just two or three tips! Register Sign In. How Do I? Pro Photography Photographer Critiques Storage. Awesome Interesting Useful Boring 1. Comments Cecilia Prest says:.
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