The first thing you want to do in adjusting your photo is to adjust the Brightness and Contrast. There are several ways to do this. Experts prefer to use the “Levels” tool, but it can be difficult to understand for beginners to Photoshop and many times I will use the “Brightness/Contrast” tool myself. It works fine for most people. Use whichever tool you are most comfortable with. Adjust the Brightness and Contrast until you are happy with the way your photo looks. Some people may know about adjustment layers, but they are an advanced topic and we won't go into them in this tutorial.

For the "Levels" tool, goto the "Image" Menu and choose "Adjustments" and then slide over and choose "Levels."



Here is the Levels tool. You will see a graph that shows you data on the Shadows, Midtones and Highlights of your photo. You may want to play around with the top 3 sliders. It is easier for beginners to Photoshop to use the “Brightness/Contrast” tool instead(see below).



The "Brightness/Contrast" tool can be accessed by going to the "Image" Menu, then "Adjustements" and then by sliding over to "Brightness/Contrast."



The "Brightness/Contrast" tool is much easier to use. Just move the sliders forward and backward (or type in values) making sure that the "Preview" box is checked and look at your photo while adjusting and click "OK" when you are happy.