Table of Contents
Lighten a specific area of an image
The Lighten tool is used to lighten a specific area of an image. You could, for example, lighten a dark area of an otherwise well-exposed image to add extra emphasis to it.
Lighten a specific area of an image
- Do one of the following:
- Choose Tools > Retouch > Lighten (from the Tools menu at the top of your screen).
- In the Tools sidebar, click
or choose if from the
grouped tools.
In the Tool Options pane, customize the Lighten tool.
Brush Size: Drag the Brush Size slider to adjust the size of the Lighten tool brush. Press and hold the key to extend the range of the Brush Size slider beyond 100%. You can also manually enter a value from 0% to 200%.
Tip: You can use the and keys on your keyboard to change the size of the Lighten tool brush.
Softness: Drag the Softness slider to adjust the softness of the edges of the Lighten tool brush. With softer edges, the lightened areas will usually blend in better with the rest of the image.
Strength: Drag the Strength slider to adjust the intensity of the lightening effect.
Select a tonal range to lighten:
- All: When you brush over an area to lighten it, the darkest, brightest, and midtone areas are lightened equally.
- Shadows: When you brush over an area to lighten it, only the shadows are lightened.
- Midtones: When you brush over an area to lighten it, only the midtones are lightened.
- Highlights: When you brush over an area to lighten it, only the highlights are lightened.
Brush over the area of your image you’d like to lighten.
Tip: You can use the Show Original: Click the Show Original button to see what the image looked like before you lightened anything in it.
Show Split Comparison: – click the Show Original button or press + on your keyboard.
Click Reset to discard all the current changes made with the Lighten tool.
