Photoshop Elements /

Burning & Dodging /

. . . if you need to burn and dodge small areas, such as eyes that are shadowed by a hat.

The method below could be called the traditional method because it resembles what many digital photographers used to do in their darkrooms.

Let's say you have a portrait in which the person's eyes are in the shadow of a hat.

Be sure to check off as you go along.

1) Preserve your original file.

If you haven't already done so, go to Preserve Your Original File.

2) Make a Background copy.

If you haven't already done so, go to Make a Background Copy.

1) Go to Layer > New > Layer, or press Ctrl + Shift + n.

Change the name to Overlay.

Select Overlay in the Mode menu.

Then, select Fill with Overlay-neutral color (50% gray).

Leave Opacity at 100%.

The new layer will appear in the Layers palette.

1) Create a new layer by clicking the Create a new layer button in the Layers palette.

2) Go to Edit > Fill Layer.

Select 50% gray in the Contents menu.

Select Overlay mode in the Blending Mode menu.

You may want to create several overlay layers.

You can use one overlay layer to burn and dodge, say the background, and a second to burn and dodge a face.

With several overlay layers, you can fine tune your burning and dodging by changing the opacity of each layer.

To make more overlay layers, select the overlay layer you made above, and press Ctrl + J.

Be sure to rename the new overlay layers as you use them.

Make sure the overlay layer is active (highlighted) before continuing.