Burn and Dodge Tools

[bpgd486]

Hey all,

I was wondering if any members on this forum had experience with the burn and dodge tools. I think they are wonderful, but I cannot seem to keep a steady hand when using them, and the effect looks amateurish with splotty blends.

Any tips would be appreciated. Also please note that I do not have a Wacom Tablet so I am using the mouse for my work.

Another note, since I am left handed it is difficult for me to use the Wacom for its intended purpose. I used to own one a few years back, but I could not make it work for me. So hence why I do not use one.

Thanks.

[tamlin]

Originally Posted by bpgd486

please note that I do not have a Wacom Tablet so I am using the mouse for my work.

That's probably part of your problem, although I've had OK results using D&B with the mouse. Other than that, I'd say the basic principles are:

• Use a soft-edged brush, as large as you can get away with. Alternatively, try the Airbrush option.
• Change the size of the brush with the [ and ] keys as you work.
• Carefully assess the tonal balance of the area you want to dodge/burn to work out whether you need to work on Shadows, Midtones, Highlights or a combination of all three. As a rule of thumb, you will most often use the Highlights setting for the Dodge tool, and the Shadows setting with the Burn tool.
• Most importantly, set the Exposure value fairly low (maybe even as low as 3-5%) and build up the effect with several passes, rather than attempting to do the whole thing in one go.

That's pretty much it, I think. They're not difficult tools to master - they just need a bit of practice.

[zapphnath]

Another thing that seems to work out well is to create a new layer above the layer you want to use the Dodge or Burn tools on and fill it with 50% grey and set it's blending mode to Overlay. (50% grey has almost no effect on the underlying image in Overlay mode). Use the D&B tools on the 50% grey layer - or, better yet, create a seperate layer for each tool. This way, you can adjust the Opacity of the layer to lessen the effect if you overdo it. Add a mask to confine the adjustments to specific areas.

[bpgd486]

Originally Posted by zapphnath

Another thing that seems to work out well is to create a new layer above the layer you want to use the Dodge or Burn tools on and fill it with 50% grey and set it's blending mode to Overlay. (50% grey has almost no effect on the underlying image in Overlay mode). Use the D&B tools on the 50% grey layer - or, better yet, create a seperate layer for each tool. This way, you can adjust the Opacity of the layer to lessen the effect if you overdo it. Add a mask to confine the adjustments to specific areas.

Thats a good technique. That brings up another question, can i apply D&B on a Smart Object or do I have to rasterize it first? Would your method work well for this issue? I am going to try it and see if I can get the same results.

[bpgd486]

Originally Posted by tamlin

That's probably part of your problem, although I've had OK results using D&B with the mouse. Other than that, I'd say the basic principles are:

• Use a soft-edged brush, as large as you can get away with. Alternatively, try the Airbrush option.
• Change the size of the brush with the [ and ] keys as you work.
• Carefully assess the tonal balance of the area you want to dodge/burn to work out whether you need to work on Shadows, Midtones, Highlights or a combination of all three. As a rule of thumb, you will most often use the Highlights setting for the Dodge tool, and the Shadows setting with the Burn tool.
• Most importantly, set the Exposure value fairly low (maybe even as low as 3-5%) and build up the effect with several passes, rather than attempting to do the whole thing in one go.

That's pretty much it, I think. They're not difficult tools to master - they just need a bit of practice.

Thanks for the advice, ill be sure to incorporate them when I am working. I assume you use a Wacom Pen? How do you like it?

[tamlin]

That's a good piece of advice from zapphnath. Non-destructive editing is the way to go: you should always use masks and work on a separate layer or a duplicate of your background layer if you can - not just when using Dodge & Burn but with any retouching techniques.

You can use D&B and zapphnath's technique on a Smart Object, but you need to double-click it to activate it first.

I use a graphics tablet, but it's not a Wacom. It works fine for my purposes, though.

[supertackyman]

good to see another southpaw in our midst.

one other suggestion...its not that im not a fan of masks, im just not practiced with them.
so in times where a mask my not be suitable and you need to detail around intricate edges---- use a larger brush than needed and use the history brush to go in and do the cleanup where needed. this allows for use of a harder brush at the edges. rather than trying to go in with a multitude of brush sizes and D/B while trying not to overlap your strokes.

[tamlin]

Originally Posted by supertackyman

one other suggestion...its not that im not a fan of masks, im just not practiced with them.
so in times where a mask my not be suitable and you need to detail around intricate edges---- use a larger brush than needed and use the history brush to go in and do the cleanup where needed. this allows for use of a harder brush at the edges. rather than trying to go in with a multitude of brush sizes and D/B while trying not to overlap your strokes.

Well, you could do it that way, but that's exactly what you'd use a mask for. You really should have a go at learning about masking - it's an incredibly powerful and useful feature. I use masks all the time.

[Jacorre]

One thing that may help with your design process is to use the History and snapshot options. You can make a few changes to the design using the dodge and burn tools and if you don't like it, just click back a few steps in the History palette. Or you could take a snapshot at the time you like it most. Then make further edits and if you don't like them, go back to your snapshot. I have a tutorial available for further information at Photoshop Tutorials - History Palette

[Bobbles]

Thanks Jacorre, knowing that could come in very useful.

[bpgd486]

Originally Posted by tamlin

You can use D&B and zapphnath's technique on a Smart Object, but you need to double-click it to activate it first.

If I double click it, it will launch the original file, so then how can I take advantage of the technique? For example, I open a file and Ctrl + J to duplicate. I then convert the duplicated file to a Smart Object. If I then double click the file, it will launch the original. If I make the D&B edits I will be doin git destructively on the original photo....

[tamlin]

No, I think you misunderstand how Smart Objects work.

1. Duplicate the background layer
2. Convert the new layer to a Smart Object
3. Double-click the Smart Object. The Smart Object will open in a new window with a .psb extension
4. Do whatever you need to do to the .psb image.
5. Select File > Save
6. Close the .psb window

The changes you made (including any layers you created) will be preserved in the Smart Object. To make further changes, double-click the Smart Object again.