Darkening/lightening images

CowboyCurtis · 07-02-2006, 01:24 PM

I have some pictures in JPEG format that have that "faded" look. I wondered what I should adjust to darken them while staying as true as possible to the original look of the photos? Should I tweak the brightness, or the gamma, etc?

**koala** · 07-02-2006, 02:15 PM

Depending on which program you use, the results will vary. Generally though, adjusting only the brightness will affect all tones in the picture, so the light areas will become whiter and the dark areas will look washed out and lose detail.

Experiment with the brightness and contrast settings to find a good balance, and make copies of the originals in case you mess up

If you're using Photoshop, select 'auto adjust levels' and it will make the whole picture clearer while keeping the detail. The levels can also be adjusted manually if you want to alter a specific area of the picture or range of tones.

07-02-2006, 01:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
CowboyCurtis Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 147 OS: Windows XP SP2	Darkening/lightening images I have some pictures in JPEG format that have that "faded" look. I wondered what I should adjust to darken them while staying as true as possible to the original look of the photos? Should I tweak the brightness, or the gamma, etc?

07-02-2006, 02:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,327 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Depending on which program you use, the results will vary. Generally though, adjusting only the brightness will affect all tones in the picture, so the light areas will become whiter and the dark areas will look washed out and lose detail. Experiment with the brightness and contrast settings to find a good balance, and make copies of the originals in case you mess up If you're using Photoshop, select 'auto adjust levels' and it will make the whole picture clearer while keeping the detail. The levels can also be adjusted manually if you want to alter a specific area of the picture or range of tones. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here