Master the Dodge and Burn tools in Photoshop

Get to grips with these essential tools for old-school image enhancements

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James Paterson

With over a decade as a writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter most.

The Dodge and Burn tools are ideal for selective lightening and darkening in Photoshop. There are lots of other tools that do a similar job, but there's something about these two that will keep you coming back to them. Perhaps it's the darkroom connection.

In the darkroom, areas of a print would be 'dodged' by shading some of the light from the enlarger bulb. A disc on a piece of wire would often be used, echoed in the Photoshop Dodge tool icon. By contrast, parts could be 'burned' by focusing light from the enlarger onto specific areas, resulting in darker tones. An 'OK' hand shape could be used, the hole between thumb and finger channeling light onto the print, hence the hand-shaped icon for Photoshop's Burn tool.

Of course, all this had to be done in the dark without any feedback until the print was developed. It took patience, skill and persistence to get right. Thankfully, it's much easier now. But there's still great skill in knowing where to dodge or burn, and how far to push it.