Use a Histogram to Tone Pictures

Professional Photographer Magazine has a relatively easy to understand long but helpful guide to histograms, the graphs that show what levels of light were captured by a digital camera’s sensor. Along with detailing the changes that happen when you export to JPEG files, the guide introduces a concept that, while debatable, has found favour with some professionals—”expose to the right,” or shooting a photo strategically over-exposed to capture detail and then adjusting it later in editing software. If you’ve ever wondered how the strange graphs in Photoshop or your camera’s screen relate to good and bad photos, this guide can help demystify the process.