How I Adjust Daytime Exposure (Histogram)

When editing photos, it can be hard to judge what is the correct exposure level. While much of that can be done by eye and to subjective taste, there is a method that I always use to at least get the photo to a solid starting point. This is where the histogram comes in useful. It’s also worth noting that that works in any photo editing app, and ideally, you’d want to be using a RAW file.

This is the original RAW file that was taken using 0 exposure compensation, meaning this is what the camera assumed to be a good exposure. The metering mode was set to Multi, meaning it was a good, balanced exposure. If you look at the histogram in the top right, you’d see that it’s right down the middle. However, we can all agree that the photo is, in fact, underexposed, and I clearly remember how bright it was that day.

Whenever I edit photos taken during the day, I find that almost always I need to increase exposure. You can do this in camera, but given the risk of clipping highlights increases, I’d rather do this in editing. Also, one can say that having a bright photo is a style and not an objectively required adjustment. This is true; some people like darker photos; however, this is what I feel looks best for me.

The first step is to crop and straighten the image because this can impact how much you need to adjust the exposure by. If you crop out specific tonal ranges, then you might need to change your exposure. Also, you need to correct any obvious white balance issues. Small adjustments won’t matter and can be done later; however, big issues need to be addressed first.

I then take the exposure slider and keep sliding it while monitoring the histogram. I effectively want to push the histogram all the way to where clipping starts to happen, then bring it back a touch to ensure nothing is clipped.