Step 6: Hijack the Histogram

The Levels slider below the histogram lets you manually set the black and white points, simultaneously increasing contrast and smoothing the tonal range. Click and drag to adjust your brightness extremes, and note that a little goes a long way; we only took off a percent or two on each side. Press and hold the Control key to check your changes against the original. The scene should now look cooler and clearer.

Like God, you get to define black and white.