Understanding Histograms by Example

What if the image has too much contrast? If you said “then most of your image data will be at the far ends of the graph” then you’re absolutely correct.

Adobe Photoshop Tutorial - Understanding Histograms by Example - Fig. 5

Our white and black points on this image are very high, and our mid-tones are rather flat, indicating that the images has a lot of dark pixels, a lot of bright ones, and not much else. Unless you’re photographing a white and black checkerboard instead of a beach scene, this is a bad thing. You’d want to adjust your camera settings and shoot again.

Now that you know how to read the histogram, start putting these skills to work! It will take some practice, because not every shot should have a perfectly balanced graph. Some images should be skewed to one side of the chart or the other, but with a little practice and attention to details, you’ll quickly learn what type of histogram you should expect in given situations and then you can accurately check your images for proper exposure and contrast without having to rely on a less-than-accurate, and small, LCD display.

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Added Monday, November 27th, 2006 at 8:41 am under Tips.