Photo editing terms describe the adjustments you make to a picture after you take it. Exposure changes overall brightness, white balance adjusts color casts, and contrast changes the separation between light and dark. Knowing the difference helps you choose a control for the problem you want to fix.
This glossary explains the basic light, color, and detail controls through examples of the same photograph. It also explains what the Definition setting does and why it differs from sharpening.
Introduction to Post-Processing and Photo Editing Terms
Post-processing means editing a photograph after capture. It can be as simple as correcting its brightness or color.
For this original walkthrough, I didn’t use Photoshop to process my images. I used simpler editing software to make minor adjustments. It took me a while to understand what the major settings did. The examples below show each adjustment separately so you can see its effect.
Walk-through
The adjustments panel below comes from the original 2011 walkthrough. Treat it as a reference for the examples, not a map of every current photo editor. Names, slider directions, and the controls available can differ between applications and versions. Adobe Lightroom, for example, has its own set of tone and color controls.
Start by checking overall color and exposure, then refine the light and dark areas. Revisit earlier settings if another adjustment changes the result. You don’t need to move every slider or follow one fixed order for every photograph.
Here’s my original photo as a point of comparison. I undo each adjustment before making the next example, so the effects don’t build up from one image to the next.
White Balance
White balance adjusts the overall color balance of a photograph. It can remove an unwanted color cast so that objects that should be white or neutral gray look that way.
Temperature moves the balance between cooler blue and warmer yellow tones. Tint works along the green-to-magenta axis. You can use these controls for a creative color choice as well as a correction. I’ve covered white balance further at this link.
In this example, I’ve made the photo warmer. Compare the skin and the field with the original above.
Exposure
In a photo editor, Exposure controls the overall brightness of the image. Increase it to lighten the photo or decrease it to darken it. This adjusts the recorded picture; it doesn’t change the camera settings used to take it.
I’ve turned down the exposure in this example. That darkens the whole scene, so check the face as well as the bright background. If only the brightest or darkest areas need work, try Highlights or Shadows instead.
Recovery
Recovery is a legacy control for reducing very bright tones and attempting to recover highlight detail. Adobe’s Lightroom Classic guide lists it for older processing versions; later controls include Highlights and Whites.
Recovery can reveal detail that remains in the file. It cannot restore detail that was never recorded. Don’t expect a featureless white area to become a fully textured sky just by moving a slider.
The original example below shows only a small change around the sun and the lighter parts of the subject.
Black Point
The black point sets which of the darkest tones become completely black. Making the blacks deeper can add contrast to a washed-out photo, but pushing them too far removes shadow detail. Slider direction depends on the editor: a control named Black Point need not move the same way as one named Blacks.
A histogram shows how the photo’s tones are distributed, with dark tones on the left and light tones on the right. Clipping occurs when tones reach the limit and lose detail. Use the histogram and clipping warnings to check your edit, then look at whether important detail has disappeared.
In this example, I’ve deepened the dark areas. Watch the subject’s hair and clothing as you compare it with the original.
Brightness
Brightness changes how light or dark a photo appears. Its behavior overlaps with Exposure, but the two controls don’t necessarily affect tones in the same way. For example, the legacy Brightness control in Lightroom mainly affects midtones, the tones between the darkest and brightest areas.
It isn’t a universal control that only makes bright areas brighter. Check how your editor handles it and compare the face, shadows, and sky before accepting a change. The example below shows the brightness adjustment on its own.
Contrast
Contrast is the difference between lighter and darker tones. Increasing it generally makes light areas lighter and dark areas darker. Reducing it brings those tones closer together for a flatter appearance.
I use contrast in small doses for this sort of portrait. Too much can make the light look harsh or hide detail in the shadows. Here, the stronger example shows the effect; it isn’t a setting you need to copy.
Definition
Definition makes shapes and texture stand out by increasing local contrast, the contrast between nearby tones. In Apple Photos, Apple describes Definition in terms of contour, shape, and midtone detail. It isn’t simply a tool for brightening underexposed areas.
Sharpening is a separate adjustment that makes edges appear crisper. The effects can look related, but the controls aren’t interchangeable. I’ve overdone Definition in the example below to make the change easier to see. I prefer to apply sharpness only where I need it.
Saturation
Saturation describes the intensity of color. Increasing it makes colors stronger; decreasing it makes them more muted. In Lightroom, the Saturation control adjusts all image colors equally.
I’ve deliberately overdone the saturation below. The original already had strong colors, so it didn’t need a large increase. Look at the skin as well as the flowers before deciding how far to go.
Vibrancy
Vibrancy, also called Vibrance in editors such as Lightroom, is another form of saturation. In Lightroom, Vibrance increases less-saturated colors more than colors that are already intense. This gives you a different result from increasing Saturation by the same amount.
I tend to use it for smaller color adjustments. Compare the subject and the flowers with the Saturation example above, then choose the effect that suits the photograph. The exact behavior can vary between editors.
Highlights
Highlights are the brighter areas of an image. The Highlights control lets you adjust those areas without using Exposure to brighten or darken the whole scene. Lowering it can help with recovering overexposed regions where the file still contains detail. It cannot bring back information that is completely lost.
If only the face or sky needs a change, use a local adjustment when your editor provides one. A mask selects where an edit applies; Lightroom Classic’s masking tools, for example, let you adjust a selected area instead of the whole photograph.
Shadows
Shadows are the darker areas of a photograph. Raising the Shadows control lightens those areas and can reveal detail that is hard to see. Lowering it makes them darker.
I prefer a restrained adjustment for this image. Lifting the shadows too far can make the lighting look flat, like an overdone HDR photo. Compare the result with the original and stop sooner if you want to keep more depth in the lighting.
My Processing
Here’s my final edit of the photograph. I made it slightly warmer with white balance and slightly darker with Exposure. I also adjusted the black point and brightness, then added a little contrast and saturation.
These are small changes compared with some of the demonstrations above. The point is to choose the adjustment the photo needs, rather than use every control at its strongest setting. Compare your edit with the original and check the subject, colors, highlights, and shadows before you finish.
