SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher banishes photo darkness with a click, revealing details hidden in the shadows.

  1. 1️⃣ Open SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher.
  2. 2️⃣ Add Dark Photo.
  3. 3️⃣ Access Image Correction Tools.
  4. 4️⃣ Adjust Brightness Levels.
  5. 5️⃣ Save Edited Photo.
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SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher Screenshot.
️Posted by:
Eugene editor-in-chief of the SoftOrbits, candidate of sciences in computer science, CTO of the SoftOrbits / 📅 Last updated on:  2024-06-21

My recent trip to Iceland was magical, but the stunning landscapes turned into dark blobs on camera thanks to those pesky northern lights. Needed a way to brighten them up without blowing out the details. Tried the usual suspects, but everything felt clunky or expensive. Then I stumbled on SoftOrbits Old Photo Restoration Software. Photos looked amazing, and it was surprisingly easy to use. Definitely will keep this one in my toolbox.

📙Quick summary

  1. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher: Easy photo editing for beginners.   
      Download 
  2. Photoshop: For advanced users   Read More
  3. Online tools: good for 1-2 images   Read More
  4. Mobile apps: do it at your phone   Read More

Why should you fix the image brightness?

Example of Image Brightener..
Example2 of Image Brightener..

How to use Image Brightener Software?

Along with basic exposure and color corrections, SoftOrbits Photo Rethoucher also contains tools to remove scratches from scanned images, remove skin blemishes, colorize black and white photos and erase watermarks.

How to brighten a picture in a click?

Add file

Add the photo you have to edit using the Add File button. You can even drag and drop the photo into the home screen of the image brightener app.

Add files to SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher..

Click on Image Correction

You can see the Image Correction option in the menu on top. Click on it to open the list of all editing options like contrast, temperature etc. on the right side.

Image Correction..

Make the brightness adjustment

The slider is available on top. Moving it to the right will increase the brightness level, and moving it to the left decreases it. You can follow the same step for other settings like contrast, saturation, temperature, tint and gamma.

Brightness adjustment..

Apply final changes

While you make the adjustments, you will get a live preview of the changes. Once you are happy with the final result, click on Apply to create the final version.

Apply final changes..

Save file

The final step is to click on Save As and save the edited photo.

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher

SoftOrbit Photo Retoucher is an old photo restoration software that can improve scanned photos by removing blemishes, touching them up, and restoring them.

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Video Tutorials

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SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher: A Solid Option for Brightening Dark Photos (Free Download)

Looking to breathe new life into your dark and underexposed photos? SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher might be the answer you've been waiting for. But is it the perfect fit for everyone?
👍 Strengths of SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher:
  • Simple and Intuitive: SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher is designed with ease of use in mind. Even beginners can navigate its interface and brighten photos with just a few clicks.
  • Extended functions: While brightening is a key feature, SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher offers additional tools for photo restoration. You can remove scratches, blemishes, and even colorize black and white photos.

🤔 Things to Consider:

  • Limited Editing Features: Compared to robust photo editing software like Photoshop, SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher offers a more limited set of editing tools. For advanced editing tasks, you might need to look elsewhere.
🌟 SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher is a Great Choice For:
  • Casual Users Who Need a Quick Fix: If you have a handful of dark photos you want to brighten and don't need extensive editing features, SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher is a great, free option.
  • Restoring Old Photos: With its ability to remove scratches and blemishes, SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher can be a valuable tool for bringing new life to faded or damaged photos.

However, If You:

  • Need Advanced Editing Controls: For precise photo editing and a wider range of tools, you might be better suited with professional software like Photoshop.
  • Work with High-Resolution Photos Regularly: SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher might not be the most efficient choice for editing large or high-resolution photos.
SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher offers a user-friendly and free solution for basic photo restoration, but keep its limitations in mind for more complex editing tasks.

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How to automatically brighten a photo?

Sometimes, adjusting all the settings and brightening a photo manually takes a lot of time. Complex lighting also makes it difficult to fix the exposure sometimes. This is why an auto brightness option is so useful!
When you click on the Image Correction option to begin editing, you will also see an Auto Correction button in the toolbar on the right. By simply clicking on this option, Image Brightener will analyze the image on its own and make all the adjustments!
Automatically brighten a dark photo..

The brightness, contrast and color will be corrected automatically so that the histogram and white balance becomes balanced.

How can Image Brightener app adjust sharpness of the photo?

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher also provides sharpness adjustments.
After clicking on the Image Correction option, at the bottom of the toolbar you will also see a Sharpen and a Soften button. You can use the Sharpen button to increase the sharpness, which makes all the edges, outlines and textures in the image stand out. But you should be careful to not increase it a lot – which creates and unnatural HDR-like look.
The Soften button creates the opposite effect. It will blend in the details and outlines to create a soft, dreamy look. It is useful if you really need to smoothen out the wrinkles and blemishes in a portrait photo.
Adjust sharpness of the photo..

What is the Gamma correction option?

Gamma level also affects how light or dark your image appears, but they are not exactly the same.
Gamma setting controls how the image will look on different computer screens and monitors. If it is not adjusted properly, the photo might appear darker or brighter when viewed on different displays.
Gamma controls only the mid-tones, so when you increase it, the program will make those tones appear lighter and make the photo brighter. Increasing it too much will make the image appear washed out, even though the black and white areas have not been changed. It is advisable to keep the gamma levels around 1 as it works for most photos.

Other features of SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher goes beyond brightening photos and offers many more features. In fact, it contains scratch remover tools and watermark eraser too!

How to Restore Dark Photos If They Have Any Damaged Areas

This option is available under the Tools menu on top.

Open SoftOrbits Picture Brightener and add the photo you want to edit.

Photo Retoucher..

Click on Tools option from the list on top. Select Scratch Remover from the dropdown list that appears.

Scratch Remover of Photo Retoucher..

The various options available for erasing scratches will appear on the right. Click on Find Scratches to allow Photo Retoucher to detect scratches automatically.

Find Scratches using Photo Retoucher..

You can also click on the pencil icon under the Selection option to mark the scratches to be removed manually.

Select scratches manually using Photo Retoucher..

Once all the scratches are selected, simply click on Remove Scratches. Photo Retoucher will erase the selected areas and fill in the gaps using the background.

Remove Scratches..

How to use the Remove option to erase distractions, objects and watermarks?

Apart from adjusting brightness and correcting exposure of your images, it is also important to keep them free from unwanted objects like tourists, moving cars, watermarks and other distractions.

h4 Remove unwanted objects from photos

This is where the Remove tool of picture brightener can help you!

Open it and add the photo you want to edit.

Photo Retoucher..

The Remove tool lets you mark the object you want to erase using your mouse pointer. You can directly adjust the size of the pencil marker using the radius control, and begin highlighting the person, object or watermark you want to remove. The advantage here is that SoftOrbits Image Brightener will fill in the gaps automatically.

Remove object from a photo using Photo Retoucher..

You can also try out the clone-stamp tool, which is useful if you want to remove any object and replace it with another part of the image manually. Use Alt + left click to clone a clean area, and then paste it over the object and hide it using left click only.
After you have marked the unwanted objects or covered them up using the clone-stamp method, you can click on Remove. Photo Retoucher will erase the marked areas for you and give you a clean, restored photo!

Remove unwanted objects using Image Brightener..

Way #2: How to brighten a photo in Photoshop?

At SoftOrbits, our goal is to deliver accurate and trustworthy information.

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One of the most used and advanced editing programs, Photoshop makes it easy to fix exposure and brighten any photo.

Follow these four simple steps to brighten photo in photoshop!

Upload the photo you want to edit in Photoshop
You will see a menu bar on top. Select Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast

Brighten a photo in Photoshop..

A small dialog box will open with sliders for brightness and contrast. You can move them to the right to increase them. You can even click on the Auto button, which will allow Photoshop to analyze the image and fix the brightness accordingly, on its own!
Click OK. The adjustments made will be applied to the layer open in Photoshop. Don’t forget to save the image in the right folder.

How to brighten a photo in Photoshop..

Way #3: Can I brighten image online for free?

There are dozens of sites to brighten dark photos online, but one of the best ones is Canva. It is easy to use, comes with many fun filters and is completely free. Along with image editing, you can use this website to brighten image online, create birthday cards, greetings and posters!

Online image brightener for free..

Also, when you sign up on Canva, a free account gives you access to 5 GB of cloud storage.

To brighten image online, follow these simple steps:

Login to your Canva account. You can use the website even without an account, but you will miss out on some features like adding text and shapes, using templates, graphics etc.
Use the Upload button to add the photo.
Click on the Adjustments icon, which looks like 3 small lines. It is right below the upload button.
You will see 3 sliders for brightness, contrast and saturation. Canva will show you a real-time preview of the changes.
Click on the Save button in the top-right corner and download the image.

Way #3 What is the best app to brighten pictures?

There are many advanced apps available for both iPhone and Android which can edit images and fix dark photos. In fact, iPhone already has a great editor built in, and you don’t have to download anything else!
To make photos brighter in iPhone, open Photos, tap on the image to view it in full screen, and click Edit. A range of editing options will open up, which you can scroll through by swiping left. You will find a brightness tool under the Exposure option.

For Android phones, the two best brighten apps for android are Snapseed and Pixlr.

Best Brighten App for Android

Here is a list of their features which will help you compare this two apps!
SNAPSEEDPIXLR
SNAPSEED..
PIXLR..

Snapseed is developed by Google and is available for free.Pixlr is also available for free in Android phones.
It allows adjustments in brightness, contrast, temperature, sharpness etc.It can be used as image brightener, however, the sharpness radius is fixed and cannot be changed.Pixlr also allows adjustments of all basic exposure values. It even lets you adjust the sharpness radius.
Snapseed contains a few advanced features like curve adjustments, black and white conversion with RGB filter and automatic face detection for fixing portraits.It is not as advanced as Snapseed, but contains more creative filters, text options and stickers.
Better for advanced users who need extra photo brightener editing options.Better for beginners who want to edit only simple photos and selfies.

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SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher
Download Image Brightener app to make your images brightener automatically. Photo Brightness Editor app free downlaod.
 Download for Free
SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher Screenshot.

🖥️ System Requirements

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher


There are multiple ways you can increase brightness selectively. You can brighten the whole image and then use the History brush to erase the parts you don’t want to edit.

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher an easily fix image that is too bright by gamma correction or reducing brighness.

Input formats

JPEG, BMP, PSD, TIFF, GIF, PNG, PCX, JPEG 2000, TGA, Animaged GIF, Multipage TIFF, WEBP, PSD, ICO, MNG, WBPM, WMF, JBG, JP2, JPC, PGX, RAS, PNM

Supported Metadata

Exif, JFIF, XMP, IPTC, HEIC

Supported file extensions

.jpg, .jpeg, .jfif, .pjpeg, .bmp, .gif, .psd, .png, .ico, .ani, .cur, .icl, .jng, .mng, .tiff, .tif, .tga, .wmf, .emf, .j2k, .jbg, .jp2, .j2c, .ras, .pnm, .pgm, .ppm, .pgx, .jpc, .dpx, .wbmp, .pcx, .cr2, .nef, .raw, .dng, .arw

Supported Language

English, 简体中文，繁体中文，Italiano, Deutsch, Français, Español, Português, 日本語, Русский, 한국어, Bahasa Indonesia, नहीं, Tiếng Việt, Ελληνικά, Suomi, العربية, Dansk, Čeština, Български, Türkçe, Slovenščina, Svenska, Română, Polski, Magyar, 영어, Norsk