| 8.9. Brightness-Contrast | ||
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8. The “Colors” Menu |  |
| 8.9. Brightness-Contrast | ||
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8. The “Colors” Menu | |
The Brightness-Contrast tool adjusts the brightness and contrast levels for the active layer or selection. This tool is easy to use, but relatively unsophisticated. The Levels and Curve tools allow you to make the same types of adjustments, but also give you the ability to treat bright colors differently from darker colors. Generally speaking, the Brightness-Contrast tool is great for doing a "quick and dirty" adjustment in a few seconds, but if the image is important and you want it to look as good as possible, you will want to use one of the other tools.
In GIMP 2.4 and newer, a new way of operating this tool is available: by clicking the mouse inside the image, and dragging while keeping the left mouse button down. Moving the mouse vertically changes the brightness; moving horizontally changes the contrast. When you are satisfied with the result, you can either press the OK button on the dialog, or press the Return key on your keyboard.
![[Note]](images/note.png)
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Note |
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With GIMP 2.10 and newer, the Brightness-Contrast tool works on indexed layers. |
You can get to this tool in two ways:
In the image menubar through → .
By clicking the tool icon
in the toolbox if this tool has been installed there. For this, please
refer to Section 1.11, “Toolbox”.
“Presets” are a common feature for several Colors command. You can find its description in Section 8.1, “Introduction to the “Colors” Menu”.
This slider sets a negative (to darken) or positive (to brighten) value for the brightness, decreasing or increasing bright tones.
This slider sets a negative (to decrease) or positive (to increase) value for the contrast.
To make your work easier, this button lets you turn to the Levels tool with the same settings.
These are common features described in Section 8.1, “Introduction to the “Colors” Menu”.
