Fixing the exposure and adjusting the contrast with help from the Luma waveform monitor

When correcting an image, not only do we want to make sure our colors appear as we saw them with our own eyes, but we also need to ensure that the image is properly exposed, giving us as full of a range of bright to dark as possible. Cameras do not have nearly the dynamic range of light and color that the human eyeball does (yet), and so we must work to push our darker and brighter areas of an image to create contrast. This can be tough to do relying on a computer screen's portrayal of our media, but with the help of a video scope called the Luma waveform monitor, which helps measure the brightness and contract of an image, this process is made just a bit easier.

Getting ready

Find and highlight a clip in your timeline that you think is in need of some extra contrast or exposure adjustment. If you are unsure, read along to learn how to understand and read video scopes to spot clips in need of adjustments...