How to fix an overexposed photo

A washed out photo is usually fixable up to a point, and the point is worth knowing before you spend time on it.

Filters and adjust
Whichever tool you use here, the file stays on your device. How that works

Step by step

  1. 1Add the photo.
  2. 2Lower the brightness a little. A small change goes a long way.
  3. 3Raise the contrast, which is what brings back the sense of depth.
  4. 4Add a touch of saturation, since washed out photos usually lose colour as well as tone.

What is recoverable and what is not

Areas that are merely too bright still contain detail, and pulling the brightness down brings it back. Areas that are pure white contain nothing at all. No adjustment recovers them, because there is no information left to recover, and pushing harder just turns white into grey.

Contrast is usually the real fix. Overexposed pictures look flat because everything has been pushed toward the bright end, so the difference between light and dark has collapsed. Restoring that separation does more for the image than brightness alone.

Work in small steps and compare against the original. It is easy to overcorrect into something that looks harsh and artificial, which reads as worse than the washed out version you started with.

Questions

Can a completely white sky be recovered?

No. Pure white areas hold no detail to restore.

Which should I adjust first?

Brightness down slightly, then contrast up. Contrast usually does the most work.

Is my photo uploaded?

No.