Levelling the tones

Levels shows you the range of tones on a scale from 0 (pure black) to 255 (bright white). The Levels adjustment is found directly underneath the Curves tool, and is represented as a horizontal bar numbered 0 on the left to 255 on the right. The aim, when working with the Levels tool, is to ensure your histogram extends from the deepest shadow area on the left of the scale to the brightest highlight on the right without clipping and losing image data. If you drag the slider in from the left you ‘re-map’ the darkest areas of your image. Pulling the slider in from the right re-maps the highlights.