Middlebrightness

Middlebrightness is a term used across photography, imaging, display technology, and vision science to denote a brightness level that sits between the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows of a scene or image. It is commonly associated with midtones, the tonal range that fills the middle of the luminance spectrum and carries a large share of scene information.

In photography and digital imaging, middlebrightness refers to midtone values in the histogram. These values are central to exposure decisions, contrast management, and tonal reproduction. Tone-mapping and dynamic-range compression often aim to preserve or control middlebrightness to avoid a flat image while still revealing detail in shadows and highlights.

In display and image processing, gamma correction and perceptual brightness models shape how midtones are rendered on screens. Because perceived brightness does not map linearly to input signal, middlebrightness is adjusted to keep midtones visually natural as overall brightness changes.

In vision science, middlebrightness may be discussed in the context of mesopic adaptation, where the eye's sensitivity sits between photopic and scotopic levels, and mid-range luminance influences color perception and contrast.

See also midtone, luminance, dynamic range, tone mapping, gamma correction, exposure.