Video:Photoshop Tutorial: How to Brighten an Image
with Chris DavisIf a photo is too dark, Photoshop makes it really easy to brighten it. This About.com video will teach you the basics of brightening images using Photoshop.See Transcript
Transcript:Photoshop Tutorial: How to Brighten an Image
Hi, I'm Chris Davis for About.com. If your photo looks a little too dark, here's how to brighten it up a bit in Photoshop CS6.
One Way to Brighten an Image
There are a couple of techniques you can use to brighten your image. However, it's important to understand the difference between them. You could go to Image Adjustments and choose Brighteness/Contrast. A pop up menu will appear and you can adjust the two sliders to achieve the effect you are looking for. This method does work but you need to realize that this is a permanent change of the pixels. The only way to return to your original image is to undo right now. If you keep editing other elements of the phot,o you can't go back without restarting from the beginning.
Easier Method of Brightening an Image in Photoshop
A better method is to add an adjustment layer. This is done by either selecting Layer, New Adjustment Layer or selecting an adjustment layer icon next to your layers tab.
Start by selecting the levels adjustment layer. A graphical display will appear. Check to see if the image has a full range of black and white. This is done by sliding the black and white slider to the very first pixel in the graph. You should already notice a slight change. Now slide the gray scale slider slightly to the left. Don't go too far; your image will start to wash out.
Turn Effect On and Off
Next, select the Brightness/Contrast Adjustment layer. Click the Auto button. Your image will brighten more. At this point, feel free to manually tweak your image to your satisfaction.
Now, the reason we chose to use the adjustment layers is that in our Layers tab, we can now go back and turn the effecton and off. We can also re-edit the layer by double clicking the layer thumbnail button and making new adjustments, or you can simply hit Delete and eliminate the layer altogether.
For additional tips, check out the About.com Graphics Software site. Thanks for watching.