Color Swatches

7) Open the Color Swatches panel (Color Swatches palette) on the right side of your screen.

If it isn't there, go to Window > Color Swatches, at the top of your screen.

If Color Swatches isn't open, do the following.

6.0 & 7.0

Click the tiny white triangle.

8.0

Double click the phrase Color Swatches.

Everyone

If you haven't already done so, go to Color Swatches.

Select a Shade of Gray

8) Select a shade of gray from the Default color swatch.

When you do so, make sure the cursor looks like an eyedropper, not a paint bucket.

Which Shade of Gray?

When you dodge, you're lightening the photograph.

When you burn, you're darkening the photograph.

The amount of dodging and burning varies according to the shade of gray.

Dodge (Lighten)

Grays that are lighter than 50% dodge your photograph

Darken (Burn)

Grays that are darker than 50% burn your photograph

Erase

50% gray erases what you've done with the other shades of gray.

Dodging					Erase	Burning
White	10% Gray	20% Gray	30% Gray	40% Gray	50%Gray	60% Gray	70% Gray	80% Gray	90% Gray	Black
Most Dodging				Least Dodging	Erase	Least Burning				Most Burning
-5	-4	-3	-2	-1	Erase	+1	+2	+3	+4	+5

9) If you haven't already, select a shade of gray from the Default color swatch.

Again, when you do so, make sure the cursor looks like an eyedropper, not a paint bucket.

Zoom

10) Enlarge your photograph, if needed, with the Zoom tool.

Use the Overlay Layer

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

If it isn't, click on it.

Active Layer with 6.0

An active layer is a light gray, and the other layers are a dark gray.

Active Layer with 7.0 & 8.0

An active layer is black, and the other layers are gray.

Whew!

Now You Can Dodge or Burn

12) Click, hold, and drag to "paint" the area in your photograph where you want to burn or dodge.

When you release the mouse button, the burning and dodging is seen as marks in the overlay layer.

Example of Dodging

Here are two brush strokes on a forehead.

A 10% gray brush made the top stroke.

A 30% gray brush made the bottom stroke.

10% Gray Brush

30% Gray Brush

50% Gray = Erase

Don't use a 50% gray brush to burn and dodge.

You use a 50% gray brush to erase any burning and dodging that you've done.

Overexposed & Underexposed Areas

If your photograph has over- or underexposed areas, they need to be painted.

You can't burn and dodge these areas.

Go to Painting Overexposed Areas.

Create Several Overlay Layers

You may want to create several overlay layers.

Then, you can use a separate overlay layer for each part of the photograph.

For example, you can use one overlay layer to burn the sky.

Then, you can use a second overlay layer to burn and dodge a face.

With separate overlay layers, you can fine tune your burning and dodging.

Let's say the sky is a little too dark after burning it.

Simply lower the opacity of the overlay 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.

Download a Burning & Dodging Swatches

If you wish, you can download the Burning & Dodging Swatches.

In the default color swatches, 5% Gray is absent.

The Burning & Dodging Swatches includes 5% Gray.

The orange and rust-colored swatches isolate 50% gray, and separate the dodging colors from the burning colors.

The zip file also contains a file called _Empty in which you can put other color swatches as you work.

Download

1) Go to Burning Dodging Swatches (Zip folder).

2) Select Save.

3) Save the folder to My Download Files (XP), Download (Vista), or Downloads (Windows 7), or Desktop (Mac).

Unzip

1)1) Go to the above download location and go to the Burning_Dodging_Swatches folder.

2) Unzip (open) the Burning_Dodging_Swatches folder by double clicking on the folder.

If you have difficulty downloading or opening the zip file, go to Zip File Problems.

Browse

3) Browse to the folder in which Photoshop Elements stores swatches, which is called Color Swatches.

Windows

Go to My Computer (XP) or Computer (Vista & Windows 7), and browse using the path below.

If you can't find the folders below on your computer, go to Hidden Files & Folders.

C: > Program Files > Adobe > Photoshop Elements > Presets > Color Swatches

Mac

Open Finder, and navigate using this path:

Applications > Adobe Photoshop Elements > Presets > Color Swatches

Open

4) Open the Color Swatches folder.

5) You now have two windows open.

6) Click on the two files in the left-hand window, and drag them onto the right-hand window.

The _Burning & Dodging Swatches and _Empty files will appear in the Color Swatches menu after you restart Photoshop Elements.

To open the _Burning & Dodging Swatches file immediately, do the following.

1) Open the Color Swatches panel (Color Swatches palette).

2) Click More at the top of the palette (panel).

3) Select Replace Swatches.

4) Select the _Burning & Dodging Swatches file and click Load.

You're done.

The two files have underscores at the beginning of their names.

_Burning & Dodging Swatches

_Empty

Because of the underscore, the files will appear at the top of the Color Swatches menu.

Zip File Problems

Easy Solution

If you have difficulty downloading or opening the zip file, ask me to send you the swatches file as an e-mail attachment.

Go to Ask Jim.

Harder Solution

Windows computers (XP, Vista, Windows 7), and Mac OS X 10.3 and later, can open zip files.

If you don't have a zip-file program on your Windows computer, download WinZip (Windows), which has a free trial period.

If you're unfamiliar with zip files, go to the WinZip tutorial.

If your Mac computer doesn't have a zip-file program, go to  StuffIt (Mac).

Saving the Photograph

If you haven't already done so, go to Saving Files.

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