Photoshop Elements >
Burning & Dodging >
Introduction
Definitions
Burning and dodging have been used since the beginning of photography.
Burning In
When you burn in something, you're darkening an area on a photograph.
For example, if a sky is too bright, you can burn in the sky
to make it darker.
Dodging
When you dodge something, you're lightening an area on a photograph.
For example, if you can't see someone's eyes because they're
shadowed by a hat, you can dodge the eyes to make them lighter.
Why Do We Need to Burn & Dodge?
There are three reasons why you should consider burning and dodging.
1 - Move the Viewer's Eye
You can use burning and dodging to emphasize and deemphasize
parts of a photograph.
By darkening and lightening, you can control where the viewer's
travels around a photograph, and where it lingers.
2 - Add Depth, Texture, & Volume
If you add shadows, or darken shadows, you can add depth, texture,
and volume to a photograph.
3 - Relieve Eye Pain & Frustration
In photography—WYSINWYG—what you see is not what you get.
Camera sensors increase the contrast of a scene.
Let's say you're photographing a picnic scene.
The sky is a deep blue with Ansel-Adams clouds.
The picnic table, in the shadow of a tree, is resplendent with
gastronomic bonhomie.
However, when photographed, the sky will become a washed-out
blue and the picnic table will be hard to see in a deep, dark, shadow.
The viewer's eyes are pained by the brightness of the sky and
frustrated by not seeing the picnic table clearly.
You'll have to burn in the too-bright sky and dodge the picnic
table in the shadow.
The increase in contrast in photographs is not a new problem.
Bernice Abbott, in a 1944 Popular Photography Magazine article,
The Coming World of Photography, described the problem.
Abbott mentioned how you can't get the bright area of a scene,
and the dark area, on the same photograph: "Latitude: A dark deep
foreground should have as much tonality as a bright sky, without
sacrificing one or the other."
Sixty-some years later, it's still a problem.
Here's an example.
The exposure was set for the sunny part of the scene.
The rafter's hats have shaded their faces.
Here are some possible solutions—that wouldn't have helped.
|
Use a reflector
|
Too far away
|
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Use fill flash
|
Too far away
|
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Use a more telephoto focal length,
and fill the frame with just their faces.
|
1) Didn't have a telephoto zoom
along
2) Wanted the raft in the photograph
|
|
Use spot metering to measure
the light on their faces, and set the exposure for their
faces.
|
Their faces would be well-exposed,
but the rest of the scene would be washed out.
|
|
Come back on an overcast day
when they light is less contrasty.
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They wouldn't be there.
|
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Move in closer with waders
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Not with my expensive camera!
|
What Would Work?
Dodge their faces using one of the methods below, such as
Traditional
Method - Overlay Layer.
Methods
Go to Burning & Dodging Methods for
help deciding which method to use for a given situation.
Overexposed Areas
If your photograph has overexposed areas, they need to be painted.
You can't darken them by burning.
Go to Painting Overexposed
Areas.
