How to Fix Overexposed Pictures ~ Enhance Photography Skill

Exposure of pictures is a tricky endeavor, and even fully automatic cameras will occasionally make an improper exposure. To properly expose an image, the camera must read all elements of light coming through the viewfinder and adjust the aperture and shutter speed of the camera to allow the proper amount of light to enter the lens and create the image. Knowing how to fix overexposures will help you compensate for the moments when your camera is fooled by reflections or shadows.

Instructions

Open the image in a photo-editing program with the appropriate exposure adjustment tools. A professional editing program will provide the most accurate tools for correction, and multiple tools may be necessary to adjust certain images (see Resources). If the picture is a printed photo, scan the image using a flatbed scanner or professional photo-processing service in order to edit the photo.

Go to the "Image" section of the program, and select the "Adjustment" section.

Choose the brightness or contrast setting under Adjustment, and move the sliders or number selections in the dialog box to higher positive numbers for brightness or toward the negative numbers for darkness. In the case of overexposure, you will want to darken the image.

Select the "Preview" option on the dialog box to see the adjustments as you move the adjustment settings.

Click "OK" once your adjustments create the image you desire, and the settings will be applied to the photo.

Go to the "Image" section of the program, choose "Adjustment" or "Edit" and select "Levels" or "Histogram."

Slide the points underneath the histogram in the Levels or Histogram dialog box toward the edges of the histogram. Because the image is overexposed, move the point on the far left toward the dark sections of the histogram. This will increase the black in the image and darken the exposure.

Select "Preview" and ensure that the adjustments are not too dramatic. If you have moved the points too far into the dark sections of the histogram, the white areas of the photo will turn gray.

Go to the "Image" or "Edit" section of the program, select "Adjustments" and scroll down to the "Exposure" option. Select the "Preview Box" prior to making your adjustments to gauge the amount of exposure compensation you are adding.

Move the slider toward the left or adjust the numbers toward the negative side of the scale. This will remove lightness from the image, though it will apply it to the entire photo, unlike the histogram option, which applied the adjustments to the lighter or darker sections of the photo.

Select the "White," "Black" or "Gray" option settings in the dialog box if you wish to adjust only the black, gray or white sections of the photo using the sliders. For example, if the clouds in your picture are overexposed but the dark shadows are close to perfect, select the white dropper and then move the sliders. This will adjust only the white sections of the image.

Click "OK" once the proper adjustments are applied.