The first thing you want to do when editing 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. Some people may just use the "Brightness/Contrast" tool. Use whatever is easiest for you. I'll show you both, but for the sake of brevity, I will only show you the very basics of Levels. It is a powerful tool, but is somewhat complicated.

To access the "Levels" tool, go to the "Image" menu and highlight "Adjustments" and then slide over and choose "Levels."



Here is the Levels tool. You will see a graph, called a histogram, that shows information about the tones in your photo. The left side of the graph represents the shadows. The middle of the graph represents the midtones. The right part of the graph represents the highlights. The image below has the most tones in the shadows, since that is where the graph peaks. There are three sliders, below the graph, that let you adjust the shadows, the midtones, and the highlights. Play around with the sliders, until you get something you like. Be careful not to overdo it or you will lose detail in the shadows. Check and uncheck the "Preview" checkbox to see before and after. Click "OK" when you like what you see.



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



The "Brightness/Contrast" tool is much easier to use, but not nearly as powerful as Levels. 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 you are adjusting it. Click "OK" when you are happy. Leave "Use Legacy" un-checked. I usually like to brighten most of my photos up a little and add a little contrast too. Be careful not to overdo the contrast or you will lose detail.