Previously, I had shared an article on How to Use Burn and Dodge Tool in Photoshop. Today, I shall share another method with you on how you can achieve the same burn and dodge effect.
Here’s the before and after:
Photo reference: Joerg Meinhardt
Step 1: Open the File in Photoshop
Open the image you want to work on in Photoshop.
Step 2: Create New Layer
Then create a new layer by selecting the Layer Tab > New > Layer. Alternatively, you can create a new layer by using your keyboard shortcut tool Shift + Ctrl + N on Windows and Shift + Cmd + N on Macs.
Rename this new layer to your designed name and change the Mode to Overlay. Remember to also check the box beside Fill with Overlay-netural color (50% gray). By doing so, this new layer will be transparent till you apply either black or white to it.
Click ‘Ok’ and you are ready to move on to the next step.
Step 3: Create the Burn & Dodge Effect
Now, let’s lighten and darken different areas of the image simply by painting over with the Brush Tool. You want to paint White on areas you want to lighten and Black on areas you want to darken.
Select the Brush Tool from the Tools Palette or access it with the shortcut tool by pressing the letter B on your keyboard.
Select the letter D on your keyboard to reset color picker to default colours. Next, switch the color of the Foreground and Background Colors by clicking on the reverse arrow circled in red. You can also trigger the switch by selecting the letter X on your keyboard.
With the Brush Tool in selection, right click anywhere on your canvas to trigger the popup window for the Brush Panel. Change the brush size to match your image size and select the brush with 0% hardness.
By gradually building up the amount of Opacity, we can achieve a more natural look to the burn and dodge effect. To do that, go to the Option Bar at the top of the screen and lower the Opacity down to somewhere between 5-20%.
This will make the small incremental changes that are harder to detect but with repeated sweeping movements, it will result in a more natural look.
Now, simply paint over areas in your image that needs to be brightened. Paint over a few times with sweeping movements to build up the effect. Now that you are happy with the dodge effect, we shall move on to achieve the burn effect.
Simply change the Foreground Color to Black and paint over on the same layer.
And that’s all! Simple isn’t it? Here’s the image of the before and after again:
Now that you have seen 2 different methods of creating the same burn and dodge effect, which one do you prefer?
