Adjusting Levels

by Mike Schumacher

Here is an easy way to find the darkest point and the lightest point in an image. This technique involves using levels in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.

Bring up levels and you will be presented with a histogram representing the darkest pixels on the left and the lightest pixels on the right. Normally you would slide the two triangles for the shadows and highlights until they just meet the edge of the histogram.

Try this:

Hold down the alt key and select the shadow triangle. You will see your image go completely white.

Now slide the triangle slowly to the right just until you see pixels on the white background. Those are your darkest pixels.

Now hold down the alt key and select the highlight triangle. Your image will go completely black. Slide the triangle slowly to the left just until you see pixels on the black background. These are your lightest pixels. Note: this technique won’t work if you have clipped shadows or highlights.