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Fix Underexposed Photos


Description: This tutorial shows you how to fix those underexposed photos in less than 5 seconds.

Ok, to start off, we obviously need an underexposed photo. I will be using this photo below, if you want to follow this tutorial, you are welcome to save this photo and use it for this tutorial.

In the days before photoshop CS, to fix this photo, we would need to use the Brightness and Contrast adjustments, so lets try that and see how far we go...

Go to Image->Adjustment->Brightness & Contrast.
Now I would move the brightness and contrast sliders over to the right to around about +30 - +35 - as this would give the best result, any more than this will make the image too bright and washed out.

Here is the result

Not bad i reckon, but if you are as picky as I am, then this is not good enough, the image appears to be washed out a little, and the monitor on the left is still too dark. So scrap all that and lets explore a new feature in photoshop CS

With the original image, go to Image->Adjustment->Shadow/Highlight.

Instantly, this adjustment will improve your image, without overexposing it. You can slide the Shadows slider over to 100% to really brighten it up, while still maintaining the image's exposure. If you did this using the Brightness/Contrast option above, your image will render unrecognizable.

So there you go, a super fast and easy way to fix your underexposed photo.

User Comments

Bobbi | Jan/22/08 07:57
John,
Thats not really fair. some of us are just learning the nuances of Photoshop after coming over to the Dark side from some other programs. Dont be so quick to judge.
ranjit | Sep/16/07 13:00
i want to know how can i take special photo with cut light
venkat | Jul/8/07 01:41
its very useful for me thanks tutorial wiz
Said wali | Mar/3/07 14:46
Unbelievable !!! as much soft and clean
tmasta | Jan/17/07 17:03
i rule
G | Nov/22/06 21:08
nice...all I've been using is brightness/contrast for the last few years.

Scrapped that idea myself and going to apply this one.
Russ | Oct/23/06 09:16
I've found a better way to improve an under-exposed shot is to first create a duplicate layer, then apply the "screen" blend mode. The opacity can be precisely controlled with the slider. If this doesn't do the trick, flatten the layers and apply the entire duplicate/screen/modify opacity/flatten process again. One could do this many more times, but in my experience picture noise increases after the second run of the process. Then, if fine-tuning is needed the use of shadow/highlight, curves, or levels will work well to manage bright spots, shadows, and contrast. This technique can be used to bring out shots that are almost completely darkened through under-exposure.
BeTtY | Oct/16/06 17:13
iTs WANt eVeR
krazyweb.net | Oct/8/06 20:40
An even easier way would be to use curves, found under Image > Adjustments > Curves =)
Amin Mahmud Jahangir | Sep/13/06 04:58
The above way to fix underexposed photo is excellent.

Hello Ms. Nathan Ng, I hope and want to learn more technic on photo editing from you.
Thanking & best regards,
Mahmud
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