PixelatedImage Blog

Anyone who’s spent much time in Photoshop knows the Dodge and Burn tools are useful for very little. Here’s a nice way to do dodging an burning. I’ve been playing with it and I think it’s a good one to include with the first tip of this set - the one that involves adding grain using an overlay layer of 50% grey.

I’ll be brief.

1. Add a new layer - Layer>New

2. While that new layer dialogue is still open set mode to Overlay and click the “Fill with Overlay - neutral colour (50% grey)” box.

3. Using a wide, soft brush, anything you paint with WHITE will lighten (dodge).

4. Anything you paint with BLACK will darken (burn).

A much simpler and more elegant solution to dodge and burn and less destructive too.

It’s horn tootin’ time. Just got my third Editor’s Choice from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Still not sure what this means, because sometimes they choose some awesome images and other times they choose crap. All the same, feels good. Unless they choose them cause they’re crap. In which case, it feels less good.