Photoshop

Dodge or burn areas

Used to lighten or darken areas of the image, the Dodge tool and the Burn tool are based on a traditional photographer’s technique for regulating exposure on specific areas of a print. Photographers hold back light to lighten an area on the print (dodging) or increase the exposure to darken areas on a print (burning). The more you paint over an area with the Dodge or Burn tool, the lighter or darker it becomes.

  1. Select the Dodge tool  or the Burn tool .
  2. Choose a brush tip and set brush options in the options bar.
  3. In the options bar, select one of the following:

    • Midtones to change the middle range of grays

    • Shadows to change the dark areas

    • Highlights to change the light areas

  4. Specify the exposure for the Dodge tool or the Burn tool.
  5. Click the airbrush button  to use the brush as an airbrush. Alternatively, select the Airbrush option in the Brushes palette.
  6. Drag over the part of the image you want to lighten or darken.