0 comments on “How to Dodge & Burn in Photoshop”

  1. Nice tutorial. Good technique for starters. Nicole works at a perfect pace and explains keyboard shortcuts clearly and memorably. Really nice addition to the site.

  5. Thanks Nicole for this tutorial!
    I didn’t actually know how to work non-destructively with dodging and burning, so I’ll definitely start implementing this in my current workflow.

  6. This is a good technique that not nearly enough folks know about. I’m actually a little surprised CS4 didn’t have some sort of “non-destructive” dodging and burning tool built in. Well done tutorial!

  7. Thanks for the video. It would be helpful to explain at the outset what dodging and burning are for the newbies like myself. Thanks!!

  8. Roger it’s unlikely we’re going to spend much time on the extreme newbie here on this blog. But if you want that sort of information it is available simply typing “dodge and burn” into Google or Wikipedia.

  9. Awesome video. As a new photographer, I felt that the pace and the information presented was simple and easy to follow. Thanks for the tips :)

  12. Hi Marc. I’ve never used Elements before, but I’m pretty sure you can. The technique is pretty simple, definitely something Elements should allow you to do.

  14. Hey Nicole. I heard your interview on Twip. Good stuff. I like your istock image of the elderly man (8468592). I am also an istocker. I’ve never had formal training…so I’m trying to learn all I can from tutorials like this and twip (on my spare time as a university student). Thanks.

    Also, IS THE TWIP PODCAST STILL ON ITUNES? (I can’t find it)
    Juan

  15. IN CS2 Shift+Ctrl+N opens the New Layer dialog box. In the dialog box change the mode to Overlay and check the box – Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray). You can also rename the layer in this process.

  17. This was great, thanks. I’ve got a few images sitting in aperture that I’d like to do some additional work to, but I’ve never used Photoshop before. Thanks very much for the helpful keyboard shortcuts!

  18. I liked the way keyboard shortcuts were brought up on screen as text – a much more intuitive way to learn what they are than the usual method of repeating the short cut louder and more slowly (“that’s C O N T R O L P L U S N” – always feels like you’re being talked down to!).

    The link to Nicolsey’s blog actually goes to the vimeo page, though. Not sure that’s what was intended :)

  20. To quickly create the dodge and burn layer Option/Alt click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers pallet, change the Mode to Overlay, and click the Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray) check box.

    To avoid a blotchy look to your adjustment areas, try to cover as much of the area as possible without releasing your mouse button or raising your pen.

    Switching the Brush color from black back to white, or vice versa, in an attempt to undo an adjustment will often make things look even worse. In order to move back towards your starting point you will need to click on the Foreground color to bring up the Color Picker and set your Foreground color to neutral gray (R=128, G=128, B=128, or, H=0, S=0, B=50.), then adjust the Brush opacity as needed.

    Yes, the technique can be used in Photoshop Elements.

  23. I’m not too experienced with photoshop, but what is the advantage of this technique over making a duplicate layer of the image and using the dodge/burn tools? I love seeing how others work on photoshop though. It’s an interesting approach.

  24. Pingback: London Photobloggers » Blog Archive » Elsewhere: Feb 16, ‘09

  26. Using the dodge/burn tools in Photoshop is destructive, and while you would still be saving a copy of the background layer, you would still be messing with and destroying the actual pixels on the image. In my opinion the dodge/burn tools tend to over-do the effect and I really just don’t like the way it looks (especially when you zoom in close, you can see the difference).

    Another issue withe the dodge/burn tools is that if you make a mistake that you can’t get back to soon-enough in the history panel, then you are either stuck with your mistake or you start all over. If you make a mistake using the method above then you can just paint over the small area with 50% gray and redo it.

    My advice would be to take a high-res image and try both effects on it in two separate layers, then compare the two and see which one you like better.

Comments are closed.