Using the Equalize command (Photoshop)

The Equalize command redistributes the brightness values of the pixels in an image so that they more evenly represent the entire range of brightness levels. When you apply this command, Photoshop finds the brightest and darkest values in the composite image and remaps them so that the brightest value represents white and the darkest value represents black. Photoshop then attempts to equalize the brightness--that is, to distribute the intermediate pixel values evenly throughout the grayscale.

You might use the Equalize command when a scanned image appears darker than the original and you want to balance the values to produce a lighter image. Using Equalize together with the Histogram command lets you see before-and-after brightness comparisons.

To use the Equalize command:

1. Choose Image > Adjustments > Equalize.
2. If you selected an area of the image, select what to equalize in the dialog box, and click OK:
• Equalize Selected Area Only to evenly distribute only the selection's pixels.
• Equalize Entire Image Based on Selected Area to evenly distribute all image pixels based on those in the selection.