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Day 19: Dodge and Burn Tool in Photoshop

Hey, guys! Welcome to my another tutorial from 30 Days to Learn Photoshop series. Last time we discussed Gradeint Tool in Photoshop and today we’ll discuss Dodge and Burn Tool in Photoshop. Dodge and Burn Tool give us better control on highlights and shadows of the image. Of course, you can use your contrast bar but that feature gives us very less flexibility. All you can do is to move the slider.

Dodge and Burn tool gives you full control over the image. It takes a whole lot of time, effort, and skills but the results are much better.

So let’s begin with the tutorial.

What are Dodge and Burn Tools in Photoshop?

Dodge and Burn are two different tools in Photoshop. Dodge tool is used to brighten an area while the burn tool is used to darken an area. The feature that makes them unique is that rather than being a slider like contrast, both are brushes. So, you get the full flexibility.

Where are Dodge and Burn Tools Located in Photoshop?

You can either grab them from tool panel or press Shift+O again and again until it comes.

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How to Use Dodge and Burn Tools in Photoshop?

Now, from here the question starts. I will show you how to use both tools step by step. Let’s start with Dodge Tool.

You’ve been reading my tutorials a lot and you must have noticed that I am a huge fan of non-destructive editing. You also know that non-destructive editing means editing a photo without harming the original photo so that you can go back to your original photo anytime if you make a mistake.

This time, we’re going to do the same.

Step 1: Create a New Layer and Fill it with 50% Gray

Press Cmd+Shift+N/Ctrl+Shift+N to create a new layer. Name it anything.

Go to Edit>Fill or press Shift+F5. Choose the contents as 50% gray. Press OK.

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Now, change the blend mode of that layer to Soft Light. You’ll see that there’s no effect on the image. In fact, the newly created layer is transparent.

3.jpg

This is the layer on which we’re going to use our Dodge and Burn tools.

Step 2: Select Dodge Tool

Let’s start with dodge tool first. Dodge tool is used to brighten the area. I am going to use to on the bride’s face. I’ll use it only on those places where highlights are present.

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The result will look very minimal to you and you may not notice it. But if you look at the bride’s skin in the below image, you’ll see that it is popping up a bit more.

5.jpg

Step 3: Select Burn Tool

The result would be more visible after using the Burn Tool. Grab the burn tool from the tool panel or press Shift+O again and again until it comes.

Let’s apply it on the face where the shadow is present i.e. the cheeks.

6.jpg

Aren’t you seeing the difference? I know that it has not made the image any better and did exactly opposite of good but the point was to show you the result.

Got the point? Yes? Great!

Option Bar of Dodge and Burn Tool in Photoshop

Option Bar of both the Dodge tool and Burn tool is exactly the same.

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Let’s understand what it is:

A: Range
This is probably the best that this tool can get. This feature restricts Photoshop to affect only the selected pixels. For example, if “Midtones” is selected as Range, Photoshop will only use Dodge or Burn Tool when you’re applying it on Midtones. It will not affect highlights and shadows.

B: Exposure
This sets the strength of the tool. If sets to 100%, the tools will be much more effecting against the one when it’s set to 30%. So Dodge tool will highlight much more when exposure is 100% as compared to the situation when it’s set to 30%.

C: Protect Tones
When turned on, Photoshop will not wipe out the details of pixels. For example, dodge tool will not make any pixels completely white so that restoration is pixels will not be possible and burn tool will not make any pixels completely black. It’s best to have this feature always turned on.

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