Image Histogram
See a photo's tone distribution and catch clipped shadows or highlights.
About this tool
Drop a photo and read its histogram the way a camera would show it โ RGB channels overlaid, mean and median brightness, and clipping percentages with a plain-language verdict about what they mean.
How to read a histogram like a photographer
A histogram is a census: how many pixels live at each brightness, shadows on the left, highlights on the right. The shape tells the story. A mountain crammed against the RIGHT edge is clipped highlights โ pure white holding zero detail, and nothing in any editor recovers it, which is why cameras blink at you about it. Crammed LEFT is crushed shadows (slightly more recoverable, still lost at true black). A comfortable hump touching neither edge is a healthy exposure โ and a NARROW hump in the middle is a flat image with room to stretch, the ones that respond best to a contrast boost in photo filters. The RGB overlay adds colour diagnosis: channels that separate widely signal a cast (red histogram shifted right = warm tint). There is deliberately no โcorrectโ histogram โ a snow scene lives right, a night scene lives left โ the chart reports, you judge. The DPI guide covers the other half of image quality; the palette tool reads hue where this reads tone.
Frequently asked questions
What does clipping actually mean?
Pixels at the absolute limits โ pure white (255) or pure black (0) โ where detail no longer exists to recover. A few percent is normal (light sources, deep shade); big spikes mean lost texture.
Is there an ideal histogram shape?
No โ a snow scene rightfully lives right, a night shot left. The chart flags only the unrecoverable: clipped edges. Everything else is intent, not error.
How do I spot a colour cast?
Look for one channel's hump shifted relative to the others โ red shifted right means a warm cast, blue right means cool. Aligned humps mean neutral colour.
Why check a histogram before editing?
It tells you what's POSSIBLE: a narrow mid-hump has room to stretch into contrast; clipped edges warn you what no slider will bring back. Ten seconds here saves ten minutes of futile fiddling.