Brighten Photo

Just describe how bright you want it. No exposure sliders or curves needed.

Dark indoor photo with faces in shadow — Before

→

Bright indoor photo with all faces and details visible — After

Brighten Photo Free (2026)

Drop your photo here

or click to browse

Release to upload

Free • No signup

Popular use cases:

Dark indoor photos
Underexposed photography
Real estate interiors
Product photography
Backlit portraits
Night photography
Event photography
Marketplace listings

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 brightening	`brighten this dark photo significantly`	15s
Indoor photo fix	`brighten to look like natural light, fix dim lighting`	15s
Backlit portrait	`brighten the shadowed face, keep background natural`	20s
Shadow recovery	`brighten only the shadow areas, preserve highlights`	20s

How it works

Upload your dark photo

Drop your underexposed or dimly lit image into EditThisPic. JPG, PNG, WebP up to 7MB. The AI can recover detail from surprisingly dark photos — don't delete those dark shots just yet.

Expect: Simple brightening: 15-20 seconds. Complex mixed-lighting brightening: may need 2 refinements.
Describe the brightness you want

Type your instruction: 'brighten this photo significantly' or 'brighten the dark areas while keeping the bright areas natural.' You can be specific: 'brighten the faces in the shadows' or 'make everything well-lit like natural daylight.'

Tip: Add context for best results: 'brighten this indoor photo to look like it was shot with good natural light' gives the AI a clear target to aim for.

Copy one of these to get started:

General photo brightening brighten this dark photo significantly so all details are clearly visible
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Indoor photo fix brighten this indoor photo to look like it was shot with good natural light, fix the dim lighting
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Backlit portrait fix brighten the face and subject — they're in shadow from backlighting. Keep the background natural.
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Product photo brightening brighten the product to show all details and true colors clearly
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4 more prompts

Night photo recovery brighten this night photo as much as possible while keeping it looking natural, reduce the darkness
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Shadow detail recovery brighten only the shadow areas to reveal hidden detail, keep the bright areas as they are
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Real estate interior brightening brighten this room photo to look bright, airy, and inviting — show the space well-lit
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Brighten without color shift brighten the photo while keeping the original colors accurate — don't shift the color temperature
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Generate and review

AI analyzes the photo and applies intelligent brightening — lifting shadows while preserving natural highlights. Check that skin tones look natural and bright areas aren't blown out. If needed, refine with 'a bit more' or 'a bit less.'
Download your brightened photo

Save your well-exposed result. The AI preserves original color accuracy while improving brightness — no washed-out or artificially bright look.

Try it free ↓

Brighten Photo Free (2026)

Drop your photo here

or click to browse

Release to upload

Free • No signup

"My living room photos always come out dark. One prompt and they look like they were shot with professional lighting. This is magic." @RealtorJane_Photos

See it in action

Dark indoor photo brightened

A dim indoor photo with faces hidden in shadows was brightened to show everyone clearly with natural skin tones.

Prompt: brighten this indoor photo to look like it was shot with good natural light

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Backlit portrait with face in complete shadow — Before

Portrait with face properly lit and visible — After

Backlit portrait rescued

A portrait shot against a bright window left the face completely in shadow. AI brightening revealed the face while keeping the background natural.

Prompt: brighten the face and subject — they're in shadow from backlighting

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Dark product photo with hidden details — Before

Bright product photo showing true colors and condition — After

Dark product photo fixed

A product photo shot in poor lighting hid the item's true colors and condition. Brightening revealed all details for the listing.

Prompt: brighten the product to show all details and true colors clearly

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If something looks off

Brightened photo looks washed out or faded

Why: Over-brightening can reduce contrast, making the image look flat and lifeless.

Try: Try: 'brighten moderately while keeping strong contrast and rich colors' or 'brighten but don't wash out the colors'

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Tip: Ask for 'natural' or 'moderate' brightening if the first attempt was too aggressive.

Colors shifted after brightening

Why: Brightening can reveal color casts from artificial lighting that weren't visible in the dark version.

Try: Add: 'brighten and also correct the color temperature to look like natural daylight'

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Tip: Indoor photos often have warm yellow casts. Adding 'fix the color cast' to your brightening prompt corrects both issues at once.

Noise and grain became visible after brightening

Why: Dark photos contain digital noise. Brightening amplifies that noise, making it visible.

Try: Use: 'brighten the photo and reduce the noise and grain that appears in the brightened areas'

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Tip: Very dark photos (like night shots) will always have some grain when brightened. Combining brightening with noise reduction gives the cleanest result.

Bright areas are now blown out (too white)

Why: The AI brightened everything uniformly, including areas that were already well-exposed.

Try: Be selective: 'brighten only the dark shadow areas, keep the already-bright areas at their current level'

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Tip: For photos with mixed lighting, asking for selective shadow brightening (like HDR) preserves highlight detail.

Photo still looks too dark

Why: The first pass may have been conservative to avoid over-processing.

Try: Simply regenerate with: 'brighten significantly more — this is still too dark, make it well-lit'

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Tip: Using words like 'significantly' or 'dramatically' tells the AI to apply stronger brightening.

Quick answers

How do I brighten a dark photo for free?

Upload your photo to EditThisPic and type 'brighten this dark photo.' The AI intelligently increases exposure, lifts shadows, and reveals hidden detail in 15-20 seconds. Free to try, no signup required, no watermarks.

Is AI brightening better than a brightness slider?

Yes. A simple brightness slider raises everything uniformly, often blowing out highlights while barely helping shadows. AI brightening understands the photo — it lifts dark areas more than light areas, preserves highlight detail, and corrects color casts from poor lighting.

Can AI fix a very dark or nearly black photo?

AI can recover a surprising amount of detail from dark photos, but there are limits. If the photo is completely black with no data captured, no tool can create detail from nothing. Photos that are underexposed but not completely black usually recover well.

Will brightening make my photo look noisy or grainy?

Dark photos contain digital noise that becomes visible when brightened. The AI minimizes this, but for very dark photos some grain is unavoidable. Use the prompt 'brighten and reduce noise' for the cleanest result.

Can I brighten just part of a photo?

Yes! Tap markers on the dark areas and say 'brighten only the marked areas' or describe it: 'brighten the face but keep the moody dark background.' The AI applies selective brightening.

How is this different from the Enhance Lighting tool?

Brighten Photo focuses specifically on increasing exposure for dark/underexposed images. Enhance Lighting handles a broader range of lighting issues including color temperature, shadow/highlight balance, and professional lighting effects. Use Brighten for dark photos, Enhance Lighting for more nuanced adjustments.

Ready to brighten your photos?

Free to try. No signup required.

Brighten Photo

How it works

Upload your dark photo

Describe the brightness you want

Generate and review

Download your brightened photo

See it in action

Dark indoor photo brightened

Backlit portrait rescued

Dark product photo fixed

If something looks off

Quick answers

Related Tools

Ready to brighten your photos?