1. A method for adjusting the brightness of a captured image from a digital camera, comprising: calculating a reference exposure value using the capture parameters; calculating an actual exposure value as a function of the parameters characterizing ambient illumination; comparing the reference exposure value and the actual exposure value to determine an actual image saturation value; comparing the actual image saturation value with the saturation value of the image sensor used to capture the image to determine a brightness adjustment factor; and adjusting the captured image to compensate for one of overexposure and underexposure in response to the brightness adjustment factor.