A method of processing a digital image to improve contrast, the digital image being derived from an image captured by a recording medium having a nonlinear response to light, includes the steps of: applying a spatial filter to the digital image to produce a noise reduced digital image; subtracting the noise reduced digital image from the digital image to produce a difference digital image; applying a tone scale function to the noise reduced digital image to produce a tone scale adjusted digital image having the appearance of being derived from an image captured by a recording medium having a linear response; and combining the difference digital image with the tone scale adjusted digital image to produce a processed digital image, whereby the contrast of the digital image is improved without amplifying noise.