Tutorial: How to Fix an Underexposed Photo | 31 Days of Photo Tips, Day 27

Yesterday we tackled fixing an overexposed image. Today we’re doing just the opposite – here’s how to fix an underexposed image.

The easiest way to make sure you’re able to recover pixels if you over- or underexpose is to shoot RAW. By doing so, you have the best chance of making that too-dark photo look great. The toughest part of fixing an underexposed image is removing the noise from the shadows. Not all images will look noisy when you recover the exposure, but it’s common.

Using ACR and noise reduction in Photoshop, you can make your image bright and properly exposed:

Here’s the step-by-step process for how to fix that dark, underexposed image in ACR and Photoshop:

ps – the word I was looking for in that video was ARTIFACTS. Sometimes underexposing will leave noise and artifacts in the image, visible as oddly-colored specs. I’m far too lazy to re-record the video just for that!