Digital Scrapbooking Tips

Dark, underexposed photos are a common problem. When shooting pictures indoors or in low-light situations, your photos may come out darker than you would like. Fortunately, there is a quick fix for underexposed photos with Photoshop and PSE.

1. Open an underexposed photo and select it.

2. Press Ctrl + J (Mac: Cmd + J) to make a copy of the photo. The photo copy layer will populate directly above the original photo.

3. Change the Blending Mode of the copy to “Screen.” The Blending Modes Menu can be found at the top of the Layers Palette. The default blending mode is “Normal.” Clicking the down-facing arrow reveals the entire list of blending modes. “Screen” is in the third box from the top.

4. If the photo needs to be lightened even more, select the top layer (the photo copy layer) and make a copy of it by pressing Ctrl + J (Mac Cmd + J.) This may be too light for your liking. If so, adjust the Opacity of the top layer by moving the Opacity slider. Locate the Opacity slider by clicking the down-facing arrow in the 100% Opacity box.

5. When you are satisfied with your quick fix, flatten the image by selecting Layer > Flatten Image.

This tip saved a few sets of older photos that I had scanned in. I won’t reveal my age, but at the time I took the photos, that flash cube didn’t produce enough light for my little Instamatic!

Be sure to check your email next week for another quick photo fix: adjusting faded or overexposed photos.