Everything you need to know about Auto Levels
Auto Levels automatically finds and sets the optimal black and white points for your image. It analyzes the luminance histogram, identifies the darkest and brightest meaningful pixels, and stretches the tonal range to maximize contrast and detail.
Parameters
- Strength
Controls how strongly the correction is applied. At 0, no change occurs. At 1.0, the full levels adjustment is visible. Use intermediate values for a gentler correction. - Clipping
Percentage of the darkest and brightest pixels to discard when calculating black and white points. A small value (0.5–2%) prevents extreme outliers (like hot pixels or specular highlights) from affecting the result. Higher values create a more aggressive adjustment.
How It Works
The plugin scans your image's luminance histogram, determines an input range while ignoring the specified percentage of extreme pixels, then stretches that range to the full 0–255 output. The detected range is displayed below the sliders (e.g., "Auto range: 15 → 238").
Tips
- Ideal for flat or hazy images that lack deep blacks or bright whites
- Use moderate clipping (1–2%) to handle images with lens flares or deep shadows
- Compare with Auto Contrast – both work similarly but may produce slightly different results on certain images