5 Replies Latest reply: Sep 9, 2012 5:51 PM by Noel Carboni RSS

    Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?

    *Rich* Community Member

      I have seen three brush technques to lighten and darken parts of an image, dodge & burn, to enhance dimension (look more 3D):

      1. Create a Curves Adjustment Layer set to lighten or darken image, fill it's mask w. black and paint w. white to dodge or burn respectively. Two layers are required, one to dodge, one to burn.

      2. Creat a new layer w. Overlay mode and "Fill w. Overlay-neutral color (50% gray) set in the "New Layer" dialogue box. Then paint with white or black to dodge or burn respectively.

      3. Duplicate the layer to be modified and use the Dodge & Burn Tool.

       

      Is one method better than the other for non-destructive overall control and ease of use? Thanks.

        • 1. Re: Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?
          KimberlyGabriel Community Member

          All three methods allow you to "go back" (ie. are non destructive) since you are either adding a layer or an adjustment so the original layer remains intact. As for which is "easier", to each their own. Personally, I prefer to duplicate the layer and work directly with the tools on the duplicate layer. I don't see any need for an overall effect which is then masked which is what the other two methods involve.

          • 2. Re: Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?
            *Rich* Community Member

            KimberlyGabriel wrote:

             

            All three methods allow you to "go back" (ie. are non destructive) since you are either adding a layer or an adjustment so the original layer remains intact. As for which is "easier", to each their own. Personally, I prefer to duplicate the layer and work directly with the tools on the duplicate layer. I don't see any need for an overall effect which is then masked which is what the other two methods involve.

            Thanks Kimberly. I've been playing with this. I too think this is the simpler method. But I discovered that since I work on 100+MB image files, duplicating the layer really increased my overall file size.

             

            Granted, the global curves adjustment method seems clunky with having to sometimes go back and forth adjusting the curve and/or brush opacity to fine-tune the effect of the brush stroke. But it's a little easier to correct mistakes by just "X" switching forground and background. Overall, this method takes longer.

            • 3. Re: Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?
              conroy Community Member

              A problem with dodging and burning can be shifts in hue and saturation.

               

              If you're using Curves Adjustment Layers then experiment with setting their blending mode to Luminosity.

               

              Take a look at the linked thread regarding a problem with Overlay blending mode and quite highly saturated colours - http://forums.adobe.com/message/4655402#4655402

               

              The Dodge Tool and Burn Tool have a Protect Tones mode which often can be helpful, but it may need to be disabled at other times, for example see this thread - http://forums.adobe.com/message/4673203#4673203

              • 4. Re: Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?
                station_two Community Member

                Don't overlook the Adjustments Brush in Camera Raw.  It is an amazingly powerful and multifunctional tool, and it works not only on raw files but also on non-layered PSDs, TIFFs and JPEGs. It's also capable of great and subtle differentiation by virtue of the multiple parameters that can be set.

                 

                Since it was introduced in ACR, I've never used the Burn and Dodge Tools again.

                 

                CAMERA_RAW_7_31.png

                • 5. Re: Best Technique to Dodge & Burn an Image?
                  Noel Carboni Community Member

                  I prefer editing in 16 bit mode and generally speaking I Dodge and Burn right on the pixels (the horror!). 

                   

                  I don't usually even duplicate the layer since I keep a deep history.  If everything comes down in flames, which doesn't happen often, in a pinch I'm not allergic to starting with the raw file again. 

                   

                  And yes, as station_two has said I use the Adjustment Brush in Camera Raw a good bit now, but there's still often some need to use Dodge and Burn.

                   

                  -Noel