AI Lighting Enhancer

Just describe the lighting you want. No sliders, no curves—the AI figures it out.

Person silhouetted against bright window, face in complete shadow — Before

→

Same scene with balanced exposure, face visible and window not blown out — After

Drop your photo here

or click to browse

Release to upload

Free • No signup

Popular use cases:

Indoor photography
Backlit portraits
Event photos
Family gatherings
Real estate interiors
Wedding photography
Low light situations

Cost: Free No signup required
Time: Instant results in 15-30 seconds
Works on: Any device - browser, phone, tablet, desktop
Powered by: AI-powered photo editing

Scenario	Prompt	Time
General dark photo	`improve the lighting and brighten shadows naturally`	15s
Backlit face	`brighten the face and balance exposure without losing background`	20s
Harsh shadows	`soften harsh shadows and balance the facial lighting`	20s
Dark indoor shot	`enhance indoor lighting naturally and reduce noise`	25s

How it works

Upload your photo

Drop your underexposed or poorly-lit image into EditThisPic. JPG, PNG, and WebP up to 7MB work best. The AI can recover detail from surprisingly dark images, so don't delete those failed shots just yet.

Expect: Simple lighting fixes: 15-30 seconds. Complex backlighting or mixed lighting: may need 2-3 refinements over 1-2 minutes.
Describe the lighting you want

Type what you need: 'brighten the shadows and balance the exposure' or 'make the faces visible without blowing out the background.' Be specific about what's wrong. No need to select dark areas—the AI understands lighting problems.

Tip: Mention specific areas if they matter: 'brighten the faces while keeping the window view intact' helps the AI prioritize correctly.

Copy one of these to get started:

General underexposed photo improve the lighting and brighten the shadows while keeping highlights natural
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Backlit portrait (face in shadow) brighten the face and balance the exposure so the subject is clearly visible without losing the background
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Dim indoor shot without flash enhance the indoor lighting to look naturally well-lit, reduce noise, and bring out detail in the shadows
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Harsh midday shadows on face soften the harsh shadows on the face and balance the contrast so features are evenly lit
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3 more prompts

Mixed lighting (window + indoor) balance the mixed lighting so both the window area and indoor areas have proper exposure and natural color
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Event photo in dark venue brighten this dark venue photo, make faces visible, reduce noise, and maintain the ambient mood of the lighting
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Sunset/golden hour with dark subject brighten the subject in the foreground while preserving the warm sunset colors and golden hour atmosphere
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Generate and review

Tap generate and examine the result. Check that shadow detail is recovered without looking artificial. Verify skin tones look natural and highlights aren't blown out. Compare before and after at full zoom.

Tip: Look at skin tones first—if faces look natural, the rest usually follows. Unnatural skin is the quickest way to spot over-processing.
Refine with markers if needed

If certain areas need more attention—like a face that's still too dark while the rest looks good—tap markers on those spots and regenerate with a more specific prompt. This precision step is optional for most lighting fixes.

Tip: Markers help when you need different treatment for different areas. 'Brighten just the marked areas' gives you surgical precision.

Try it free ↓

AI Lighting Enhancer

Drop your photo here

or click to browse

Release to upload

Free • No signup

"My indoor family photos were always too dark. Now I just type 'brighten the faces and balance the exposure' and they look like a pro took them." @MomPhotographer_Lisa

See it in action

Backlit portrait rescue

Subject standing in front of a bright window, face completely in shadow. One prompt revealed the face while keeping the window view.

Prompt:

brighten the face and balance the exposure so the subject is clearly visible without losing the bright window behind them

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Dark living room photo with faces barely visible — Before

Same family photo with natural-looking bright lighting and visible faces — After

Dark indoor family photo

Living room gathering shot without flash. Dim lighting made everyone's faces muddy and hard to see. AI brightened naturally.

Prompt: enhance the indoor lighting to look naturally well-lit, brighten faces, and reduce the noise in shadow areas

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Portrait with harsh shadows creating dark areas under eyes and nose — Before

Same portrait with softened, balanced facial lighting — After

Harsh shadow correction

Outdoor portrait at noon with unflattering dark shadows across the face. AI softened shadows while keeping natural dimension.

Prompt:

soften the harsh shadows on the face and balance the contrast so facial features are evenly lit while maintaining natural depth

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Detailed Guides by Scenario

📷

Photo Rescue & Restoration

Revive old, damaged, or poorly-shot photos with AI lighting — bring new life to images you thought were unsalvageable.

Common Scenarios

Applying lighting to old family photos that have degraded over time
Fixing a once-in-a-lifetime shot (wedding, graduation) that suffers from poor quality
Using lighting on scanned prints to get crisp digital versions

Best Practices

Scan old photos at the highest DPI your scanner supports before uploading for best results
Describe the specific issue — 'this photo is too dark and blurry' gives better lighting than a generic prompt
For severely damaged photos, work in stages: fix the biggest issue first, then refine

📷

Professional & Business Use

Ensure photos for websites, presentations, and marketing meet professional standards with lighting.

Common Scenarios

Using lighting on employee photos for a company website that need to look polished
Applying lighting to event photos before sharing in a client presentation
Improving product images with lighting for an online store or catalog

Best Practices

Process all images in a batch with the same enhancement settings for visual consistency
For web use, balance enhancement quality with file size — overly large images slow page loads
Always compare before and after to make sure lighting looks natural, not over-processed

If something looks off

AI changed the wrong area or affected areas I wanted to keep

Why: The AI interpreted your lighting request too broadly, applying changes everywhere instead of where you needed them.

Try: Tap a marker on the specific area you want brightened, then regenerate with 'brighten just the marked areas'

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Tip: Markers tell the AI 'I mean THIS area specifically.' Use them when you need selective lighting adjustment.

Photo looks over-processed or HDR-fake

Why: The AI pushed the enhancement too far, revealing too much detail in shadows while compressing highlights unnaturally.

Try: improve the lighting naturally without over-processing, maintain realistic contrast and shadow depth

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Tip: Adding 'naturally' and 'realistic' signals the AI to use a lighter touch.

Skin tones look unnatural after brightening

Why: Brightening shadows can shift color balance, especially in mixed lighting situations where color casts get amplified.

Try: improve the lighting while preserving natural skin tones and accurate colors

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Tip: If skin still looks off, add 'correct any color cast on the faces' to your prompt.

Highlights are blown out (pure white areas)

Why: The AI prioritized shadow recovery over highlight protection. Some bright areas lost detail.

Try: brighten the shadows while protecting the highlights from clipping, keep detail in bright areas

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Tip: Mentioning 'protect highlights' tells the AI to be careful with already-bright regions.

Noise and grain increased in shadow areas

Why: Brightening dark areas amplifies the noise that was hidden in the shadows. This is especially common with phone photos in low light.

Try: brighten the shadows and apply noise reduction to keep the image clean and smooth

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Tip: For very noisy photos, try 'significant noise reduction in shadow areas' for stronger cleanup.

Lost the mood or atmosphere of the original

Why: The AI made the photo technically correct but removed the intentional dim/moody quality you wanted to keep.

Try: brighten just enough to see faces clearly while maintaining the moody atmospheric lighting

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Tip: Be explicit about mood: 'keep the romantic dim atmosphere' or 'preserve the cozy evening feel.'

Quick answers

Do I need to mark dark areas before describing?

No! Just describe what you want: 'brighten the shadows' or 'improve the lighting.' The AI analyzes your entire photo and identifies what needs fixing. Only use markers when you need selective adjustment—like brightening just one person's face while leaving the rest unchanged.

Can the AI recover detail from very dark photos?

Yes, the AI can reveal surprising detail from underexposed images. However, extremely dark photos (near-black) may have noise issues when brightened. For best results, type 'brighten and reduce noise' together. Photos shot in RAW before converting have more recoverable data than heavily compressed JPEGs.

How do I fix backlit photos where the face is in shadow?

Type 'brighten the face and balance the exposure without losing the background.' The AI understands backlighting and will lift the shadows on faces while keeping the bright background from blowing out. This is one of the most common lighting fixes and usually works on the first try.

Will enhancing lighting make my photo look fake or over-edited?

Not if you describe what you want naturally. Use prompts like 'improve the lighting naturally' or 'brighten while keeping realistic shadows.' Avoid asking for extreme changes. If results look over-processed, regenerate with 'more subtle enhancement' or 'maintain natural contrast.'

Can I enhance lighting for just part of the photo?

Yes. Either describe the specific area in your prompt—'brighten just the faces' or 'improve lighting on the subject only'—or tap markers on the areas you want adjusted and use 'brighten only the marked areas.' Markers give you precise control when description alone doesn't isolate the right region.

Is EditThisPic's AI lighting enhancer really free?

Yes — you get 1 free edit per week, no account needed. For unlimited edits, plans start at $3.99/month.

Can I enhance lighting on my phone?

Yes. EditThisPic works in any mobile browser — iPhone, Android, tablet. No app download needed.

What photo formats does the AI lighting enhancer support?

JPG, PNG, WebP, and HEIC. Upload any common photo format and EditThisPic handles the rest.

Ready to enhance your lighting?

Free to try. No signup required.

AI Lighting Enhancer

How it works

Upload your photo

Describe the lighting you want

Generate and review

Refine with markers if needed

See it in action

Backlit portrait rescue

Dark indoor family photo

Harsh shadow correction

Detailed Guides by Scenario

Photo Rescue & Restoration

Common Scenarios

Best Practices

Professional & Business Use

Common Scenarios

Best Practices

Social Media & Personal Sharing

Common Scenarios

Best Practices

If something looks off

Quick answers

Related Tools

Ready to enhance your lighting?