Brighten Image
NewBrighten a dark photo in one step. Drop it in and it is fixed automatically, with the shadows lifted and the highlights kept, then fine-tune it if you like. Free, and the photo never leaves your browser.
Drop a dark photo here
or paste with Ctrl+V. It is brightened automatically the moment it lands.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your images are never uploaded to a server.
How it works
- Drop in a photo that came out too dark. JPG, PNG, WebP and iPhone HEIC all work.
- It is measured and brightened automatically, straight away.
- Drag across the photo to compare before and after.
- Adjust Brightness, Shadows or Contrast if you want more or less.
- Download it at full resolution, in the same format it came in.
Common use cases
- Fixing an indoor or evening photo that came out too dark.
- Rescuing a face in shadow against a bright window or sky.
- Brightening product photos before listing them online.
- Making an old scanned photo or a dim screenshot easier to see.
- Evening out a set of photos taken in different light.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I brighten a dark photo?
- Drop it in. The tool measures how dark it is and brightens it automatically, so for most photos that is the whole job. Drag across the photo to compare with the original, and if you want it brighter, raise Brightness or Shadows. Then download it.
- Why do other brighteners wash out my photo?
- A simple brightness slider adds the same amount of light to every pixel. That lifts the dark parts, but everything already bright is pushed to pure white, so skies go blank and faces go flat. This one brightens along a curve: black stays black, white stays white, and the tones in between are lifted, most of all in the middle. Nothing is ever pushed past white.
- What is the difference between Brightness and Shadows?
- Brightness lifts the whole photo, mostly the middle tones. Shadows lifts only the darkest parts and leaves the rest alone, which is the fix for a backlit photo: a face in shadow against a window or a bright sky. For a photo that is dark all over, use Brightness; for one that is dark in places, use Shadows.
- What does Auto do?
- It measures the photo's tones and sets the black point, white point and brightness to suit it, aiming for a natural middle rather than as bright as possible. A photo that is already well exposed gets very little change, and the tool says so. Very dark photos also get some shadow lift.
- Will brightening make my photo grainy?
- It can show grain that was already there. Photos taken in low light carry noise in their dark areas, hidden while they are dark; lifting them makes it visible. That is a limit of the photo rather than the tool. Brighten a little less, or add a touch of Contrast, if the shadows start to look speckled.
- Does it reduce quality or resolution?
- No. The download is the full resolution of your original, saved in the same format it came in, so a JPG stays a JPG. The preview on screen is a smaller copy so the sliders stay quick.
- Is my photo uploaded?
- No. Everything runs in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device. There is no signup and no watermark.