Levels Adjustment in One Sentence
Levels is the fastest way to make a photo look “correct”: set black point, white point, and midtone gamma using a live histogram, then export at full resolution — all in your browser.
When Levels Is the Right Tool
Levels is ideal when your image feels:
- flat / washed out (needs deeper blacks and brighter whites)
- too dark (midtones need a lift)
- too bright (midtones need control without destroying highlights)
- low contrast (tones are crowded in the middle)
It’s also a great “first step” before creative edits. Once exposure and contrast are right, other effects (saturation, hue, duotone) look cleaner.
How to Use
1. Upload an image
Drag & drop, paste (Ctrl/⌘+V), or click to select JPEG / PNG / WebP.
2. Read the histogram
The histogram shows how your brightness values are distributed:
- left = shadows / blacks
- middle = midtones
- right = highlights / whites
The vertical markers show your current black and white points.
3. Use Auto (optional)
Click Auto to apply a good starting correction. It’s designed to be helpful without going too extreme.
Then fine-tune manually:
- move Black point inward until shadows look solid
- move White point inward until highlights are crisp
- adjust Gamma for midtones (faces, interiors, products)
4. Surprise Me (optional)
Click Surprise me ✨ to explore varied “looks” (subtle, contrasty, matte, lifted, etc.). Use it to find a direction, then refine.
5. Download
Export full resolution in the original format. Filenames include your settings, e.g.
photo-levels-b012-g095-w244.jpg
Controls Explained
Black point (0–254)
Black point sets what input value becomes pure black.
- moving black point right deepens shadows and increases contrast
- moving it too far can crush shadow detail (hair, fabric texture)
Tip: If you lose detail, back off 2–10 points.
White point (1–255)
White point sets what input value becomes pure white.
- moving white point left brightens highlights and increases contrast
- moving it too far can blow out highlight detail (sky, white clothing)
Tip: Push white until it looks crisp, then back off slightly.
Midtones (Gamma) (0.20–3.00)
Gamma shifts midtones without changing your black/white endpoints.
In this tool:
- Lower gamma = brighter midtones (lift faces/interiors)
- Higher gamma = darker midtones (add mood / reduce haze)
Common ranges:
- 0.80–0.98: lift midtones (very common)
- 1.00: neutral
- 1.05–1.30: deepen midtones for drama
Quick Recipes
Fix a washed-out image
- Black: 8–35
- White: 220–250
- Gamma: 0.90–1.05
Brighten a dark photo (without nuking highlights)
- Black: 0–18
- White: 235–255
- Gamma: 0.70–0.95
Add punch (crisp contrast)
- Black: 18–55
- White: 200–240
- Gamma: 0.85–1.15
Matte / lifted blacks
- Black: 25–80
- White: 220–255
- Gamma: 0.60–1.00
Matte is usually “higher black point” + a midtone lift.
Best Practices
1. Don’t over-clip
Clipping happens when detail becomes pure black or pure white. If you see:
- dark areas turning into flat black patches → reduce black point
- bright areas turning into flat white patches → increase white point
A little clipping can be stylistic, but for most photos you want to keep detail.
2. Use gamma for faces and products
Most important subjects live in midtones. If the image is “technically” exposed but still feels wrong, gamma is the cleanest fix.
3. Auto is a starting point, not a verdict
Auto levels is intentionally conservative. Use it to get 70% of the way there, then do the last 30% yourself.
4. Levels before saturation
If you plan to boost saturation, do Levels first. Correct exposure/contrast reduces ugly color shifts and makes saturation look cleaner.
Common Problems and Fixes
“Shadows look crushed.”
- Lower black point
- Try slightly lower gamma instead of pushing black so hard
“Highlights are blown out.”
- Raise white point (move it right)
- Avoid extreme contrast stretches
“It still looks flat after fixing endpoints.”
- Adjust gamma slightly (0.90–1.10 range)
- If needed, follow up with Brightness & Contrast or Soft S-Curve
“Auto made it too strong (or too weak).”
- Apply Auto, then back off black/white by a few points
- Or use Auto as a reference and set your own values
How Auto Levels Works Here
Auto levels uses a luminance histogram (brightness distribution) and picks percentile endpoints rather than blindly forcing 0→black and 255→white.
That matters because:
- borders, specular highlights, or noise can create extreme outliers
- percentile clipping produces a more useful correction for real photos
The tool also suggests a subtle gamma change based on histogram median (damped so it doesn’t overcorrect).
How It Works
Levels remap each channel with:
- Normalize between black and white:
(v - black) / (white - black) - Clamp to 0..1
- Apply gamma:
x^(1/gamma) - Scale back to 0..255
Preview uses a capped size for speed, and Download exports at full resolution.
