John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Last night at the photo club an experienced member delivered a talk (and exercise for those with laptops) on dodging and burning. It's the first time I've really understood these terms. So I've spent to long indoors today practicing when I should have been outside walking.

This image is nothing special, one of those that looked much better in the viewfinder, but offered me scope to try out what I hoped I'd learned from last night. The first one is S.O.O.C., the second my exercise. I straightened it a little then cropped to edges. Using a variety of soft brush sizes and strengths on the burn tool to enhance the furrows I then maxxed the brush size and did a sweep over the whole image to enrich it a little. I followed this with a little dodging around some tree perimeters and parts of the clouds. Feeling encouraged I then used the sharpen brush to tidy up the horizon a little.

Looking for reccomendations as to what else I might do to further enhance the shot and others from proficient dodgers and burners please.

Straight out of camera

(Download)

Dodge and Burn exercise

(Download)

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Thank you for starting an excellent discussion! I won't proclaim myself at proficient but I will jump in. Bear in mind that it is your image and your own preferences should rule: I'm working from the perspective of my own preferences with might be different. I really liked how you dealt with the furrowed field, so I used your second image as a starting place.

I see you use Elements. I use PS which has some similar tools but some different. I used the radial and graduated filters in ACR to darken the sky and brighten shadows under the tree, though the latter could have been done with the dodge tool. Then I stuck strictly with the dodge and burn to make the darks in the clouds darker and the whites whiter for more drama, and to create more variation in the dark line of trees right behind the big tree. Then I cleaned up some sensor dust bunnies.

Dodge and burn is my finishing touch toolset for most images that I really work in detail. I do dodge/burn on a layer. I add a blank layer to the image, change blend mode to Soft Light and fill the layer with 50% gray, which makes it invisible. Then I paint on it with black to burn and white to dodge with various brushes and opacities. This creates the same effect as the dodge/burn tools but it is much easier to correct if you find a mistake or change your mind later (just paint with the opposite color).

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I see DPP in your exif. Do you use Elements also? If yes, I can tell you how I do, which is a bit like Minnie's.

I saw a suggestion on UHH to try a separate new layer, in overlay mode, and just use soft brush, painting white or black at very low opacity. This worked better for me than the actual burn and dodge tools. Just seemed like I could control the results a bit better.

John, thanks so much for starting this topic. I suspect we will all learn something before this one is done!

Frank2013 Loc: San Antonio, TX. & Milwaukee, WI.

John, good to see you back here. Listen to the women they know what they are talking about. The dodge and burn tools themselves are probably not the best way to dodge and burn, they work, but the ladies are revealing a more controlled process for you.

John N Loc: HP14 3QF Stokenchurch, UK

Never been away Frank, for some reason F.Y.I. doesn't always come up on my daily digest. If I go in 'manually' it usually triggers it for a few days (like today) but when it disappears i don't whether its because there's nothing there or its forgotten me. And if I don't go and physically check I'll never know...............and sometimes I don't.

I do use DPP from time to time but mainly PSE10. DPP I find useful for a quick edit and PSE more laborious but offering more. This was just an exercise and I didn't pick the original out out of the folder.

I'll see if there are a few more replies and then I'll approach the clubs committee to see if they can get a lesson on layers organised. I'm sort of aware of layers but not comfortable using them, pretty much as I was with the dodge and burn tools before Tuesdays session. And I'm also going to forward these suggestions to the presenter and get his views. It maybe that he touched on this while I was busy noting items.

Thank-you all. And Happy thanksgiving to all American acquaintances, real or imagined, average Joe's or legendary.

rlaugh Loc: Michigan & Florida

John...good job...I use "dodge and burn" as my main PP tool, but I do it as Min and Linda have suggested, with overlay layer! Try it this way, way more control, and more natural look!!

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

The digest is only a small sampling of all that is posted to UHH (and FYC) every day. Do you browse the internet regularly? Do you have other sites bookmarked as favorites?

You could add the FYC home page to those, if you're familiar with that way of using the internet. Use this address:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/s-119-1.html

Then when you click on it, you will see "new topic" in green as you scroll down the list.

The alternative is to skip the digest entirely and use "newest topics" at top of page.

Go to bottom of this page to "all sections" and subscribe or unsubscribe from the forums of interest to you. Now they will show up (or not, as you wish) in "Newest Topics" every day.

magnetoman Loc: Purbeck, Dorset, UK

Could be you're opening in a 'private' browser, if so, the browser will not show any section to which you're signed-up because it can't remember that you are! Change to standard browser and open-up the email, presto, all your sections on view!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Nice work on the dodge and burn part. Those are probably the only manipulations I do to an image.
--Bob