Photo Quality Score
Calculate a reference photo quality score from brightness, contrast, and sharpness heuristics.
Calculate a reference photo quality score from brightness, contrast, and sharpness heuristics.
Example Photo Quality Score result Photo quality reference score: 78/100 Brightness balance: 84; contrast: 31; sharpness: 76 Next step: After editing, check clipped highlights, noise, artificial edges, and the actual publication size even if the score rises.
How to use Photo Quality Score
Calculate brightness balance, contrast, sharpness, and a composite reference score from average pixel luminance, luminance variation, and horizontal edge change.
The composite uses 35% brightness balance, 30% adjusted contrast, and 35% adjusted sharpness. It is not a judgment of aesthetics, people, artistic merit, authenticity, or professional acceptance.
- Select one original image or the exact edited copy intended for publication.
- Run the analysis and review the composite value plus brightness-balance, contrast, and sharpness indicators.
- For a low indicator, inspect the full image for motion, focus, shadows, and highlights, then compare before and after copies under the same conditions.
Useful for
- Observe basic metric changes between before and after edits of the same scene.
- Prioritize files for human review when they may be unusually dark, flat, or soft before publishing.
Limits and checks
- Brightness balance rises as average luminance approaches mid-level 128, so intentional night or high-key images may not fit that assumption.
- Sharpness uses horizontal neighbouring-pixel changes and is affected by texture and noise; a high value does not guarantee accurate focus or a natural image.
Worked example
Compare the same edited image
Input A: pre-edit publication candidate Input B: post-edit copy saved at the same size Review: brightness balance, contrast, sharpness, composite change
Run each image separately and compare the visible originals as well.
Displayed result format
Photo quality reference score: 78/100 Brightness balance: 84; contrast: 31; sharpness: 76
The numbers illustrate the format and are not measurements from a particular photograph.
Common issues
The composite was used to rate a photograph or a person in it.
Use it only as a technical pixel reference, never for people, hiring, trust, aesthetic, or artistic judgments.
Noise-driven sharpness was interpreted as good focus.
Zoom into the subject and inspect real edges, motion, compression blocks, and noise alongside the numeric result.
How to interpret the result
Read the component indicators with a zoomed view instead of optimizing only the composite.
Related workflow
After editing, check clipped highlights, noise, artificial edges, and the actual publication size even if the score rises.
Privacy and review notes
Image pixels are analysed in the current browser. The tool does not upload the selected photograph, but downloaded or shared screenshots of results may still reveal the image or filename.
FAQ
Does a score of 100 mean professional quality?
No. It only means three simple pixel metrics fit the scoring ranges; composition, colour accuracy, content, accessibility, and use-case suitability are not assessed.
Does it detect blur equally in every direction?
The current sharpness reference focuses on sampled horizontal neighbouring-pixel changes, so it cannot fully measure focus and movement in every direction.