The short answer
Why use Brightness?
A photo taken indoors or against a window often comes out too dark. One slider with a live preview is quicker than a full editor, and the result keeps the original size.
The slider multiplies the red, green, and blue values of every pixel by the same factor. 50 is 1, which changes nothing. 0 is 0.25 and 100 is 1.75, with even steps between them. Black stays black at any setting, because zero times anything is still zero.
Multiplying lifts bright areas faster than dark ones, so a sky or a white shirt runs out of room first and turns flat white. Detail lost that way does not come back in the download. Watch the brightest part of the preview and stop as soon as it loses texture.
Exposure works in camera stops and reaches four times the light at 100. Lighten only brightens, starting at 1.5 times by default. Gamma moves the midtones and keeps pure black and pure white fixed, which is usually the better fix for dark faces in front of a bright window.
Where Brightness fits
Indoor photos
Brighten a party photo taken in a dim room.
Document photos
Lift a dull phone photo of a receipt so it reads clearly.
Online listings
Make a dark item photo bright enough for a marketplace ad.
Start to finish
How to use Brightness
- 01Tap Choose image and pick the photo that is too dark or too light.
- 02Move Amount above 50 to brighten or below 50 to darken; the preview updates as you drag.
- 03Tap Apply changes, look at the brightest area for lost texture, then tap Download result.
What to expect from Brightness
| Check | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Supported input | JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG and browser-supported AVIF images |
| Main controls | Amount, color, tolerance, or channel, depending on the tool |
| Output | A PNG image with the adjustment applied |
| Working limit | 50 MB and 50 megapixels per image |
Brightness tips
- 50 is the untouched photo; each step changes the factor by 0.015.
- Stop as soon as clouds or a white shirt lose their texture.
- Black stays black at any setting, so very dark shadows will not open up.
- For dark faces in front of a window, try Gamma instead.
Brightness FAQ
Something missing? Ask us.
How much can it brighten?
Why did my sky turn white?
Does Brightness upload my file?
Is Brightness free to use?
Why did Brightness fail or look wrong?
Related tools
More in Color & Adjustments.