Today’s Question: Long ago, when I was first learning to use Photoshop, I found a way I could lighten or darken a particular area of an image and then “brush” that effect gradually into neighboring areas. Either my memory has failed me (quite possible), or the tools have changed, but I am unable to duplicate that process now. What am I missing, or messing up?
Tim’s Quick Answer: This is indeed a good technique that is still available in Photoshop. The process involves adding a new image layer with specific attributes, and then using the Brush tool to paint with black and white at a reduced opacity to darken and lighten areas of the image, respectively.
More Detail: The flexible dodging and burning technique is probably one of the adjustments I’ve been using (and teaching) in Photoshop the longest. It provides greater flexibility and control than using the Dodge and Burn tools by making use of the Brush tool instead.
To get started, select the top-most image layer (which could be the Background image layer) on the Layers panel by clicking on its thumbnail. Then hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Macintosh while clicking on the “Create a new layer” button (the plus within a square icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel.
In the New Layer dialog, enter a meaningful name in the Name field, such as “Dodge and Burn”. Set the Mode popup to Overlay, set the Opacity to 100%, and turn on the “Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray)” checkbox. Click the OK button to create the new layer.
Next, choose the Brush tool from the Tools panel. On the Options bar click the brush popup (the third icon from the left) and set the Hardness value to 0%. Make sure the Mode popup on the Options bar is set to Normal, and set the Opacity value to somewhere around 10% to 20%.
Set the colors to their default values of black for the foreground color and white for the background color by pressing the letter “D” on the keyboard. As needed you can press the letter “X” to exchange the foreground and background colors.
With everything configured, you can adjust the brush size as need by pressing the left square bracket (“[“) key to reduce the brush size and the right square bracket key (“]”) to increase the brush size. Then paint with black over areas of the image you want to darken, and paint with white over areas you want to brighten.
The result is a non-destructive layer-based approach to dodging and burning an image with great flexibility.
