Have you ever captured a perfect moment only to discover that your photo turned out overexposed? It's a common photography challenge and one that can leave you feeling disheartened. But fear not, we’ve got you!
Whether you're a casual shutterbug or a dedicated photographer, our methods will come to your rescue.In this article, we explored the top 3 software to fix overexposed photos. These include Adobe Photoshop, Wondershare Repairit, and Lightroom.
But first, let’s see why your photos are overexposed.
In this article
Part 1: Why do we get overexposed images?
Overexposed photos can occur due to a variety of factors, resulting in less-than-desirable outcomes. It could be a result of the camera's inaccurate light metering or incorrect settings on your part.
Additionally, if the subject being photographed has uneven lighting, it can lead to overexposure.
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into effective techniques for rectifying overexposed photos. If you're also interested in correcting underexposed images, we have a dedicated blog post that can assist you.
Essential Strategies for Correcting Overexposed Pictures
Mastering the art of light is paramount in photography, as it significantly impacts the overall exposure of an image. However, even experienced photographers may encounter challenges with overexposed images.
Before proceeding, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with these fundamental strategies to recover details in overexposed photos using editing software successfully:
- Skillfully adjust the Exposure slider to precisely control the brightness levels, adding or reducing as needed.
- Fine-tune the White Balance slider to achieve the desired balance in the mid-tones of the photo, enhancing its overall appearance.
- Utilize the Highlights slider to effectively manage and modify the brightest areas or highlights in the image, ensuring optimal exposure.
- Employ a Graduated Filter to selectively add a dark gradient to specific regions of your photo, effectively balancing the exposure and enhancing its visual impact.
By implementing these techniques, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to address overexposed images and produce stunning results confidently.
Besides all these tips and strategies, we also have some effective software for you to try. No tech skills are needed. So, let’s take a look at some software to fix overexposed photos.
Part 2: How to Fix Overexposed Photos in Photoshop?
Fixing an overexposed picture is not an easy task. However, there are a few methods that you can use to get the job done. Using Adobe Photoshop is one of them.
The Exposure, Highlights, and White sliders are excellent Photoshop tools for adjusting exposure. To fix your overexposed picture in Photoshop, you must first import it. After you've imported your picture, you may experiment with the sliders.
Small tips: Changing the exposure slider affects the whole picture, but changing the other two affects a specific region or color.
Exposure Slider
You can change the brightness of the whole picture by moving the Exposure slider left/right. While sliding, you will see numbers growing or decreasing depending on your direction. Slide left or right until you reach a good medium point on which your picture's exposure is perfect.
Highlight Slider
The highlights slider lets you experiment with your image's burnt-out sections. The highlights slider affects the brightest sections of a photograph. It comes in handy when you've tried everything to cure the exposure but still have a few untouched regions.
White Slider
The white slider is like the exposure slider, as it alters the overall brightness of a shot and mid-tones. By moving it right, you can increase the brightness of the mid-tones. On the other hand, when you drag this slider to the left, the brightness of the mid-tones decreases.
So, this is how to fix overexposed photos in Photoshop. However, it is not the only software to fix overexposed photos. We have two more to go!
Part 3: How to Fix Overexposed Photos Within 1-Click?
If you don't want to play with the sliders in Photoshop or don't have enough time for it, here is an alternative. With this method, just one click and all the extra exposure will be gone in no time!
What is it called? Wondershare Repairit
What is Wondershare Repairit?
Wondershare Repairit is a professional software to fix overexposed photos with a 100% success ratio. It is a simple tool that supports repairing damaged photos with all levels of corruption.
Moreover, it is compatible with both Windows and macOS. It also supports PC-to-mobile transferring/sharing.
Furthermore, it has two modes: normal mode and advanced mode. In the normal mode, it restores overexposed colors and brightness on photos from the left-to-right direction. In the advanced mode, it fixes seriously overexposed colors and brightness on photos.
Step-by-Step Guide
Now, let's view the steps you need to follow to fix overexposed photos.
Step 1: Download Wondershare Repairit from the official website.
Step 2: Launch Wondershare Repairit and go to “More Types Repair” in the left panel. Then click on “Photo Repair.”
Step 3: Then click the "Add" button to upload your overexposed photos.
Step 4: After you upload the overexposed images, you will see their detailed information on the below screen. Then click on the "Repair" button to fix the overexposed images.
Step 5: Wait for the repair to be completed. Then, click on “OK.”
Step 6: Click the "Preview" button to check the photo quality before you save the fixed photo on your computer.
Step 7: If you are happy with the recovered photo, you can press the "Save" button to download it onto your computer.
If you are not happy with the fixed photo quality, try benefiting from the "Advanced Repair." For this, you will need to upload sample images to Repairit.
Part 4: How to Fix Overexposed Photos in Lightroom?
If you don't want to use the above two methods, another tool is there. You can use Lightroom to fix your photos.
However, before you get to post-production, try shooting your photos in RAW. This is because the exposure of a picture is directly affected by the camera settings in RAW. Furthermore, RAW files include more info than JPEGs.
As a result, you will be able to deal with more aspects during picture post-production. Here is how you can fix overexposed photos in Lightroom.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow the steps given below:
Step 1: Open your overexposed image in Adobe Lightroom. Locate the "Highlights Slider" in the Develop module.
Step 2: Drag the Highlights Slider all the way to the left until it reaches a value of -100. This will affect the bright areas of the image without affecting pure whites, mid-tones, or shadows.
Step 3: Evaluate if the Highlights adjustments fully recovered the overexposed areas. If not, proceed to the next step.
Step 4: In the Develop module, find the "Whites Slider." Drag it to the left until it reaches a value of -100. This slider affects the brightest areas of the image, including pure white, but it doesn't rebuild color information.
Assess if the White Slider has fixed the overexposed image. If not, move on to the next step.
Step 5: Locate the "Exposure Slider." It affects the overall brightness of the image. Moreover, it simulates the effect produced by the camera's exposure settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO).
Step 6: Start by slowly moving the Exposure Slider to the left, making the image darker.
Keep in mind that the results can be unpredictable, and you'll need to assess whether recovery is possible.
Final Words
Overexposed photos no longer need to be a source of frustration. Whether you're a novice or an experienced photographer, we’ve got you covered.
Our guide has equipped you with three amazing pieces of software to fix overexposed photos. Photoshop's sliders offer precise control, whereas Repairit provides a quick and reliable solution.
Lastly, Lightroom gives you professional-grade editing capabilities. So, with a bit of practice and the right software, you'll be well on your way to perfecting your photography skills.