There are many ways that you can apply the dodge and burn effects onto your image. This article hopes to get you started.
Steps
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:
Using the Dodge and Burn Tools (Destructive)
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Duplicate the layer so that you will have a copy of the original. You will want to have a backup in case you don't get the results that you want.
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Click on the Burn tool.Advertisement
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Set the brush to 0% Hardness and 5% flow. You want the effect to be subtle.
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Be sure that "Protect Tone" is checked. This will help keep your colors from being radically changed.
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Paint over your image until you get the shading that you want.
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Repeat the process with the Dodge tool.Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 3:
Using a Neutral Gray Layer
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Create a new layer.
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Set the Mode to Overlay.
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Check the box where it says Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray) .
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Duplicate the layer and name one Dodge and one Burn.
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Select both of the layers and press Ctrl G . This will put them in a group. Rename the group D & B.
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Select the Burn tool. Remember that when something is burned, it gets darker. Burning is what you use to create shadows or darken things.
- For the settings, make sure the hardness of your brush is set to 0%.
- Set the Exposure to 5%.
- Set the Range to Midtones.
- Don't worry about 'Protect Tones' because it will not affect this method.
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Brush in where you want the shadow to be more 'obvious'. Obvious being a relative term, because most of the time, you will want the effect to be very subtle.Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 3:
Using Adjustment Layers
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Create two Curve Adjustment layers. Name one Dodge and name one Burn and group them in a layer Ctrl G .
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Click on the Adjustment Properties box that is beside the mask. Make sure that the brackets are around it.
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Adjust the layer to lighten the image. On the Dodge Adjustment layer, click on the center of the line that you see diagonally and push it up to make your image lighter. How much, or how little, is up to you.
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Do the same with the Burn Adjustment layer, only push it down.
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Select the mask layer (the white area) and press Ctrl I to invert the masks. You want them to be black. This will be hiding the effect.
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Select the mask on the Burn Adjustment layer.
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Press B for your Brush tool. Make sure that you have its hardness at 0% and set the flow fairly low. About 5%.
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Set the brush with white as its foreground color and paint in where you want to darken your image.
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Correct your mistakes. If you paint somewhere that you don't want the effect to be, switch the colors ( X ), and paint over where you don't want it.
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Repeat the process for the Dodge layer. Only paint where you want your highlights to be.
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Adjust the opacity. If you find an effect to be too 'much', move the opacity slider to the left. This will reduce the opacity and make it less obvious.Advertisement
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Tips
- Making an action for these will greatly simplify your workflow.Thanks
- Burning darkens the area.Thanks
- Dodging lightens or highlights an area.Thanks
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