Adjust tonal levels in Pixelmator Pro on Mac
Use the Levels controls in the Color Adjustments pane to set the tonal range of an image using histogram-based adjustments. The Levels adjustment redistributes shadows, midtones, and highlights to create optimal contrast and eliminate muddy or washed-out tones.
The Levels histogram shows the distribution of tones in an image, from pure black on the left to pure white on the right. When you adjust the black point, midtones, and white point handles beneath the histogram, you redefine these tonal values and redistribute all other tones proportionally. This creates more contrast and visual impact while preserving as much detail as possible.
For advanced corrections, you can adjust individual color channels to correct color casts or work in Luminance mode to change brightness without affecting color saturation. The quarter-tone handles provide additional control over tonal transitions.
Automatically adjust the levels of an image
The Levels controls provide two options for automatically enhancing image tones.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, select a layer in the Layers sidebar.
Select
in the Tools sidebar, then turn on Levels in the Color Adjustments pane.
Click
, then choose either of the following:
Auto Contrast: Optimizes brightness and contrast.
Auto Color: Optimizes brightness and contrast in the red, green, and blue channels.
Color correct an image by choosing a neutral tone
You can use eyedroppers to set neutral black, gray, or white areas in an image. Pixelmator Pro automatically adjusts the levels in the red, green, and blue color channels based on your selection.
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, select a layer in the Layers sidebar.
Select
Under Levels, select an eyedropper (
black point ,
gray point, or
white point).
In the canvas, click an area of the image that corresponds to the chosen eyedropper.
For example, if you chose the black point eyedropper, click in an area of the image that’s pure black. Pixelmator Pro uses your selection as a neutral reference point, and makes relative adjustments in the red, green, and blue channels.
Manually adjust the levels of an image
In Pixelmator Pro on Mac, select a layer in the Layers sidebar.
Select
Click the pop-up menu under Levels, then choose a histogram view:
RGB: Adjustments affect all three color channels equally, depending on their distribution in the histogram.
Red, Green, or Blue: Adjustments affect only the chosen color channel—useful if your image has a lot of one color in the highlights or shadows and you want to correct for this without affecting other color channels.
Luminance: Adjustments affect brightness and contrast without affecting color saturation.
Adjust any of the handles below the histogram:
Black point: Drag right to make dark areas darker and increase overall contrast. This redefines what becomes pure black in the image. If the image has gray shadows that you’d like to be closer to black, drag the black point to the right. The rest of the tonal values in the image will be evenly redistributed, increasing the overall contrast in the image.
Midtones: Drag left to brighten midtones or right to darken them without affecting pure blacks and whites.
White point: Drag left to make bright areas brighter and increase contrast. This redefines what becomes pure white in the image. If the image has dark highlights that you’d like to be closer to white, you can drag the white point to the left. The rest of the tonal values in the image will be evenly redistributed, increasing the overall contrast and brightness of the image.
Quarter-tone: Drag these handles to adjust tones between shadows and midtones, or between midtones and highlights, without affecting the main tonal points. This is useful for fine-tuning contrast in an image.
WARNING: If you move the black point or white point sliders too far into the histogram, tonal values that were originally near pure black and pure white are changed to pure black and pure white, resulting in lost image detail.