Test Image with Uniform Histogram

[dje]

Hello all

I was wondering whether anyone could point me to a test image which has a unifromly distributed histogram ie essentially a horizontal straight line. An 8 bit jpeg would be OK but a 16 bit tif would be better.

The reason I am looking for this is to try and get an image that I can use to compare the effects on the histogram of different adjustments in PS. eg Shadows/Highlights vs Curves.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree ?

Dave

[Momo]

By "image" do you mean photo? Because, that's not going to happen. I have never seen a histogram as a horizontal straight line. If you create a test image and fill it with any solid color or shade of grey the effect will be a spike from top to bottom in the histogram. A gradient will yield a nice curve, but not a straight line. I'm curious to see what other people have to say about a straight line histogram, as I think it's impossible.

[FrankMi]

Hi Dave, you might be able to create a B&W gradient that goes from black to white but it would likely be very difficult as the distribution of the pixels changes as you move from black to white. I'm not sure that even if you had such an image that it could tell you anything meaningful when it come to the rendition of a real image as the histogram for any prise winning image won't necessarily be anywhere near close to the histogram of any other.

A better understanding of how to use histograms to your benefit might be a much more useful exercise.

Take a look at https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tu...istograms1.htm and https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tu...istograms2.htm.

[Donald]

I had just read the post and was reaching the exact same view as Darren, when I saw his post appearing.

I suppose it's theoretically possible - What springs to mind are those greyscale charts that you can use to check your monitor (there's one near the bottom of this CiC Tutorial), which go from black at one end to white at the other.

What you need for a straight line is an image that has everything in it from black to white in exactly equal proportions. Cam't see that happening.

I'm not sure that I understand what exactly you're trying to do, Dave, Can you not take any image and view the effect of adjustments on the histogram?

EDIT - Just noticed that Frank has posted as I was preparing the above and his views are along the same lines.

[arith]

This is the closest I can get without actually thinking; but then I can't think too hard anymore.

[Macmahon]

Hello all

I was wondering whether anyone could point me to a test image which has a unifromly distributed histogram ie essentially a horizontal straight line. An 8 bit jpeg would be OK but a 16 bit tif would be better.

The reason I am looking for this is to try and get an image that I can use to compare the effects on the histogram of different adjustments in PS. eg Shadows/Highlights vs Curves.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree ?

Dave

Dave
There's an excellent image that I've only seen in the context of the Luminous Landscape's video tutorial on Lightroom 4 - it's a download with those videos - and it is used for precisely the purpose you're talking about. I found their explanation of what it was telling me, and my own subsequent tweaking very helpful in understanding exactly how tone curve adjustments work (as opposed to the difference they seem to make) in an image.
The image they use has both a continuous linear b-w gradient and also a set of 20? patches running from black to white.
Tim

[dje]

Thanks everone for your interest.

Darren I wasn't expecting a photo like that - it would have to be electronically generated.

Steve that's about the closest I can get at this stage

Tim you seem to see what I'm aiming for - unfortunately the Lightroom tutorial videos have to be purchased and as I'm not a Lightroom user this would be a waste.

Frank and Donald - I probably didn't explain what I was trying to do very well. I'll try and do this with an example (of course my aim could still prove fruitless !!)

Image 1 : Test Image
Image 2 : Shadows Adjustment (23%, 25% tonal width)
Image 3 : Change to histogram with Shadows adjustment
Image 4 : Curves adjustment
Image 5 : Change to histogram with Curves adjustment.

I am trying to use a test image that has a simple and well defined shape when assessing the effects of different adjustments. In this case, there isn't really much difference in the two histogram changes but that won't always be the case.

[Colin Southern]

The reason I am looking for this is to try and get an image that I can use to compare the effects on the histogram of different adjustments in PS. eg Shadows/Highlights vs Curves.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree ?

Hi Dave,

Personally, I think it would be more useful to vary these things and look at the changes on a real-world IMAGE, not a histogram.

[dje]

Hi Dave,

Personally, I think it would be more useful to vary these things and look at the changes on a real-world IMAGE, not a histogram.

Yes Colin, in the end that is what matters and I have of course done this. I guess what prompted my interest was that when doing this on a real image, eg with Shadows vs Curves, I found one gave more pleasing results than the other (and one was easier to adjust than the other) - and being me, I wanted to know why !!

Dave

[Colin Southern]

Yes Colin, in the end that is what matters and I have of course done this. I guess what prompted my interest was that when doing this on a real image, eg with Shadows vs Curves, I found one gave more pleasing results than the other (and one was easier to adjust than the other) - and being me, I wanted to know why !!

Dave

Hi Dave,

Just be aware that for example shadows -v- curves can (and do) overlap - they just offer different approaches to manipulating different tonal ranges.

Normally I don't use curves - preferring the brightness slider in ACR - but every so often the brightness control just won't push things where I want them, so it's curves to the rescue.

[arith]

I thought maybe it could be done in colour; definitely you can get a picture in it by choosing the above gradient and using a special pen that writes x and 255-x luminosity.



don't know what for though.

[John C]

I get a linear histogram for this file.



The minor "unflatness" of the histogram is due to creating a jpg. The .tiff is perfectly flat. If you want a fuzzier looking histogram, maybe you can add some noise.

[Colin Southern]

I get a linear histogram for this file.

Hi John,

I don't - it's got spikes and holes all through it on my screen.

[Colin Southern]

This is as close as I can get to it -- keeping in mind though that the "varience" might be a limitation of the DISPLAY of the histogram - not the histogram itself.

[John C]

Hi John,

I don't - it's got spikes and holes all through it on my screen.

I think the spikes and holes are just due to autoscaling the vertical axis on whatever program you are using to view the file. What you are seeing is just the noise from the jpeg compression. The .tiff is flat. This was created by filling a blank file with a linear gradient to create an 8-bit file. I created three and composited them as R,G,B to get a 24-bit color file. The original shows a perfectly flat histogram.

Another problem seems to be the fact that the 24-bit file I uploaded was converted to an 8-bit B/W file somewhere along the way. Not sure how to solve that problem.

Overall, I can see where a file like this might be helpful in understanding what a editing operation is doing to a photo.

[John C]

I added some Gaussian noise this time. It helps a bit with the histogram scaling but its not quite as flat.

[dje]

I think the spikes and holes are just due to autoscaling the vertical axis on whatever program you are using to view the file. What you are seeing is just the noise from the jpeg compression. The .tiff is flat. This was created by filling a blank file with a linear gradient to create an 8-bit file. I created three and composited them as R,G,B to get a 24-bit color file. The original shows a perfectly flat histogram.

Another problem seems to be the fact that the 24-bit file I uploaded was converted to an 8-bit B/W file somewhere along the way. Not sure how to solve that problem.

Overall, I can see where a file like this might be helpful in understanding what a editing operation is doing to a photo.

Thanks for your interest John. Could you elaborate a little more on your method of creating the tif please. in particular - "composited them as R G and B to get a 24 bit colour file"

Thanks Dave

[John C]

I used Picture Window Pro but this will probably work in other programs too. 1. I opened a new blank file 1024 by 512 (no reason other than it seemed like a good size). 2. I used the Gradient function using a linear gradient and one cycle (default settings for Gradient function). This filled the blank file with a black to white gradient pretty much as you see it in the file I posted. However, this was only an 8-bit file. So, I created 2 more files just like the first. 3. I used the Combine Channels function to combine the three 8-bit files to create one color (r, g, b) file. Now I had a 24-bit file that was comprised of the three individual 8-bit files (I could probably have used one file for all three channels). 4. The spectrum (histogram) of this file looks a little too pure, so I used the Add Noise function. I added only about 5% noise - just at the verge of visibility. You can play with the amount to suite your taste and check it by looking at the histogram. That's about it.

Sorry not to get back sooner.

[dje]

Thanks John, I'll give it a go if I can find the equivalent proocedures in PS.

Dave

[John C]

I think the difficulty might be making sure you have a perfectly linear gradient. If pure white or pure black ends of the gradient are more than a pixel wide, the histogram might show up as having 'tails' rather than being flat. I'm fairly sure that Photoshop has a function that lets you split a color file into r, g, b channels. You might have to replace the individual r, g, b channels with linear gradients and then re-combine the channels. Or something like that. Good luck.