Did you know that you can dodge and burn with simple Curves adjustment layers? You don’t even have to do any bending of the curve itself, just a quick change of the blend mode is all it takes. I use this technique for enhancing eyes in portraits but it could be used for any number of purposes.
Begin by selecting Curves from the New Layer Adjustment pallet. Don’t make any changes to the curve, just click OK.
Now change the blend mode of that layer to Screen.
Press Cmd + I to invert the mask, making it black. This hides the brightness so that it can be painted back in. Double-click the layer name and rename it Lighten.
Now create another Curves adjustment layer just as before. Click OK and then change the blend mode for this one to Multiply. Press Cmd + I to invert the mask. Double-click the layer name and rename it Darken.
Now you can go back to the Lighten layer and click on the mask. Press B to get the brush and set your foreground color to white. Paint in the areas that you want to lighten in the image. If it’s too light, just lower the opacity of the layer. Now click on the mask for the Darken area and paint in the areas that need some darkening with your white brush. I always paint in the pupils and the dark ring around the iris to make it stand out more.
When you are done, just lower the opacity until it looks just right.
Finally I just add a little catch-light back into the eye on a blank layer and lower the opacity just a little.
Before Dodge and Burn
After, with Catch-Lights
There you have it, dodging and burning with Curves Adjustment Layers. Give it a try and see what you think.
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I read a lot of blogs, but this is one of the few really useful photoshop tips I’ve seen (I think, I haven’t actually tried it yet). But this looks like an extremely easy and effective way to dodge and burn an entire photo.
Thanks for the great tip!