Last updated on 25 February 2025

Lighten areas of an image with the Lighten tool.

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  1. Select Retouch > Lighten  .

    Tip:

    The Lighten tool works directly on pixel layers for editing, and the changes made will be permanent.

  2. 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.
  3. Paint over the area you want to lighten.