Exposure adjustment

The process of modifying the perceived brightness of an image by adjusting the light levels across various tonal ranges.

Core Parameters

  • Exposure: The primary control for overall image luminosity.
  • Highlights: Control over the brightest areas of the image.
  • Shadows: Control over the darkest areas of the image.
  • Whites: Definition of the brightest point in the tonal range.
  • Blacks: Definition of the darkest point in the tonal range.

Implementation & Workflow

  • Localized Adjustments: Utilizing Masking features—such as the “Landscape” mask in Adobe Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, and Camera Raw—to apply luminosity changes to specific segments of an image.
  • Pre-processing: Effective exposure manipulation often follows initial steps like Straightening and basic panel adjustments to Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks.
  • 2026 04 14 Landscape processing in Lightroom Classic Anthony Morganti

Source Notes