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  3. Image Histogram
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Image Histogram

Analyze color distribution with RGB, luminance, and individual channel histograms. Features exposure analysis, statistics, and comparison tools.

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Image Histogram: a worked example

A photo looks flat and you need to confirm whether it is under-exposed before correcting it.

Input

photo.jpg · RGB + luminance histogram
What Image Histogram produces

Result

Tones bunched in the left third, right side empty → under-exposed, headroom to brighten

A histogram plots how many pixels fall at each brightness level; data crammed at the dark end with an empty highlight region objectively confirms under-exposure. It turns "looks dark" into a measurable correction.

What is Image Histogram?

View the tonal distribution of any image as a histogram chart. See how pixel values are distributed across shadows, midtones, and highlights for each color channel (red, green, blue) and for overall luminance. A handy diagnostic tool for photographers and anyone evaluating exposure.

How to use

  1. 1Upload an image
  2. 2View the histogram for luminance and individual RGB channels
  3. 3Identify underexposure (left-heavy) or overexposure (right-heavy)

Where this helps

  • Exposure evaluation

    Quickly assess whether a photo is underexposed, overexposed, or well-balanced.

  • Color balance analysis

    Compare RGB channels to identify color casts or imbalances.

  • Print preparation

    Check that tonal range uses the full spectrum before sending images to print.

Key features

  • Luminance histogram
  • Individual red, green, and blue channel histograms
  • Visual indicators for shadows, midtones, and highlights
  • Clipping warnings for blown-out or crushed areas

How it works

The histogram is computed by reading every pixel through the Canvas API and counting values into 256 bins per channel - red, green, and blue directly, plus a luminance series derived with the standard Rec. 601 weighting (0.299R + 0.587G + 0.114B), which matches how bright each pixel actually looks rather than averaging the channels equally. You can view any single channel, the luminance curve, or all three RGB curves overlaid, switch between four rendering styles (filled, line, bars, smooth), and choose among four scales: standard linear, logarithmic (which lifts sparse bins so small features stay visible), cumulative, and normalized.

Four one-click analysis presets (Exposure Check, Color Balance, Contrast Analysis, Clipping Detection) configure the view for a specific question. Exposure Check reads the luminance mean and labels the image underexposed below a mean of 85, overexposed above 170, and balanced in between. Clipping Detection switches to the luminance curve and pairs with a warning panel that reports the exact percentage of pixels in the darkest bins (0-4) and brightest bins (251-255) whenever either exceeds 1 percent - a meaningful percentage there means crushed shadows or blown highlights that no edit can recover - and a separate Show Clipping Zones toggle shades the shadow and highlight ends of the chart. The stats panel also gives the mean, median, and standard deviation of the distribution plus a shadows/midtones/highlights split (bins 0-84, 85-169, and 170-255 as percentages), so "looks a bit dark" becomes a measurable statement.

Hovering the chart shows the pixel count for the bin under the cursor, and the Export tab lets you take the data with you: download the full 256-bin counts as CSV, save the rendered chart as a PNG, or copy the summary statistics as text. Everything is computed locally in your browser - the photo is never uploaded.

Frequently asked questions

What does a good histogram look like?

It depends on the image. Generally, a well-exposed photo has a smooth spread of values without hard spikes at either edge. But a high-key portrait or low-key artistic shot will naturally skew one way.

Can I edit the image based on the histogram?

The histogram is read-only, it is a diagnostic tool. Use the Image Filters or Color Grader tools to make adjustments based on what the histogram reveals.

Private by design

Images are decoded, edited, and exported entirely inside this browser tab. No originals, exports, or metadata are uploaded.