The dodge and burn brush has several
uses in creating layouts. It mimics darkroom techniques used in film photography
allowing you to lighten or darken selected areas of a photograph and can also be
used on elements to add depth or dimension.
The Dodge and Burn brush is selected
by choosing Touch Up from the menu bar then Other Photo Repair > Dodge and Burn
Brush.
This opens the tool box to allow you to make adjustments to the size of the
brush, the brush style and whether you wish to lighten or darken and my how
much.
The photograph shown was taken at midday in bright sun and so heavy shadows have
fallen across the face under the brim of the riding hat hiding much of her face.
By using the dodge brush I can rescue some of that detail and so improve the
photograph. The tool has better effect on shadowed areas where the picture
information is still present underneath the shadow.
To start, zoom in on the area.
Choose an appropriate brush size. You
can change brush sizes as you work however the dodge and burn brush is
cumulative. This means when you release the mouse after brushing an area, if you
go over the same area its brightness will increase again by your chosen level.
You can choose an appropriate brush
size by changing the slider and then move your cursor to the area you are
dodging to judge which size brush will best suit. For this area I have chosen
40.
Decide if the brush style should have
a soft edge or hard edge. This will depend on the area of the photograph and its
proximity to other areas you want to remain unaffected.
For this picture I have chosen the
soft brush.
The brightness level determines the
level of dodge and defaults at 20, assuming that you will be dodging a subject.
Determining the correct level of brightness depends on the darkness of the
shadow and the lightness of the areas surrounding, as well as the amount of
detail you want to reveal. Try different levels of brightness and use reset or
undo last action to begin again. For this photograph I have increased the
brightness to 30.
The contrast level defaults at 0 and
may be altered if you desire. The contrast tool works on color to change the hue
of the area. For this task I have left it as 0.
To begin dodging move your cursor over to the area where you are planning to
work and click and hold the mouse to paint. Remember the brush is cumulative
once you release the mouse button.
Start in the shadowed area and paint
over the shadow. You will see the detail come out as shown in the second picture
above. The area looks very grey and contrasts very strongly against the tone of
the rest of the face however so to even the appearance I have continued painting
over the rest of the face to even the tone as shown in the third picture above.
The eyes and expression on her face
are now revealed and improve the photograph, and I can go on to edit the
photograph as desired.
Burning is a tool I often use on
elements to create depth.
This strap looks flat as if I have
just laid rectangles over the D ring and added studs, which of course I have.
To add realism I can use the burn
tool.
Zoom into the area and decide on a
brush size. For this project I need to increase the size to 340. I want the
brush to be soft to give the impression of the shadow spreading. Determine the
level of darkness required here I have chosen -15. I also altered the contrast
to 20.
I have started by burning where the D
ring would be pushing into to the strap. Remembering that the effect is
cumulative, I held down the mouse and painted several strokes to match the width
of the metal. I then released the mouse and painted another line just off center
to emphasize the curve. I then used the same brush settings to follow the curve
of the D ring.
Now the ends of the strap inside the
ring need attention. The idea is that they are curved inward, around the D ring
and under the strap to be held in place by the studs.
Using the same size brush, with a
soft edge I have decreased the darkness to -10 and painted over the ends. I then
decreased the size of the brush to make it thinner darkened it again to -15 and
painted a thin line at the very edge of the strap. This gives the illusion of
the roll, and the strap immediately looks more realistic.
The burn brush can also be used to
paint in shadows if you do not get the precision needed with the standard shadow
command. To use the burn brush to create shadows you need to paint on the object
that is behind the object you want to shadow. This does mean you cannot later
adjust the placement of the object however as the burned shadow will remain in
place. In the first image below I have burned around the stud directly on to
the strap. You can see in the second image how I have moved the stud away to
reveal the burn.
Spend some time becoming familiar
with the dodge and burn brush to improve photographs and add depth and shadow to
your elements.
