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Last updated on
6 November 2025
Learn how to adjust the tone of specific areas in an image with the Lighten tool in Photoshop on mobile.
Select Retouch > Lighten .
Tip
The Lighten tool works directly on pixel layers for editing, and the changes made will be permanent.
Select the more menu and adjust the following as needed:
- Range: Select the tonal range to affect - Midtones, Shadows, or Highlights:
- Midtones: Adjust the middle range of grays.
- Shadows: Target the darker areas.
- Highlights: Change the light areas.
- Size: Adjust the size of your brush to control the area of effect.
- Exposure: Control the exposure of the brush strokes.
- Hardness: Control the size of the brush’s hard center.
- Roundness: Specify the ratio between the brush’s short and long axes.
- Angle: Specify the angle by which an elliptical or sampled brush’s long axis is rotated from the horizontal.
- Protect tones: Minimize clipping in the shadows and highlights.
Paint over the area you want to lighten.
