Page #168 (135. Brighten a Face with Digital Makeup)

Chapter 17. Correcting Brightness and Contrast in a Photograph

IN THIS CHAPTER:

136 About an Image's Histogram

137 Improve Brightness and Contrast

138 Improve a Dull, Flat Photo

139 Lighten a Subject on a Snowy Background

140 Lighten or Darken Part of an Image

141 Improve a Nighttime Photo

142 Fix a Flash That's Too Close

143 Fix a Flash That's Too Far Away

Not all of us enjoy a professional level of reliability with our cameras. With the benefit of digital photography, though, you can use the computer to correct a great many defects in your photos. Correcting images works best, of course, when the defects are not too serious.

One of the easiest problems to overcome using a graphics editor is poor exposure. Your picture might be overexposed (too dark) or underexposed (too light). It might have too little contrast (too gray) or too much contrast (taken in bright sun and deep shadow). Within its extensive electronic darkroom, Photoshop Elements has a host of tools to correct exposure problems and "make it come out right."