Non Destructive Dodge And Burning

[Chris]

For many years, I was using a 50% gray layer set to overlay above my main image and painting black and white with the brush tool (2-10% transparency) as a non destructive way to dodge and burn. To undo the changes simply paint back 50% gray.

However, after watching these two video tutorials by Blake Rudis, I am now convinced his method is much better.

Use a 50% gray layer set to linear light blend mode and 15% transparency above your main image. Paint on it with the actual dodge and burn tools set to medium tones and 10%. To undo any changes, paint back 50% grey with the brush tool. To vary the intensity of existing changes, change the transparency of the dodge and burn layer to greater or less than 15%. In his second video, he offers some free actions which should work with the full photoshop.

A Strong Case for 50% Gray (Video 10.5 mins)
f64academy.com/strong-case-50-gray/?mc_cid=0b70f40ce0&mc_eid=[8089b1def6]

A better method For Dodge And Burn (Video 12 mins)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=16rx27aR5t4

Kind regards
Chris

[hmca]

Thanks for posting, Chris. I'm on Blake's mailing list but haven't viewed that video yet.

[Sepiana]

Chris, thanks for sharing! I quite agree; this is a much better technique. (I'm a big fan of Blake Rudis!)

As a side note, . . . his action works just fine in Elements.

PSE 11 and above: loaded via the Actions panel.

PSE 7 through 10: 

You need to install this action so that it can be accessed via the Action Player (Guided Edit>Automated Actions>Action Player).

Windows: C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\x.x\Locale\en_us (or your locale)\Workflow Panels\actions

Mac: Hard Drive>Library>Application Support>Adobe>Photoshop Elements>x.x>Locale>en_us (or your locale)>Workflow Panels>actions

[Chris]

May 31, 2021 14:52:41 GMT Sepiana said:

As a side note, . . . his action works just fine in Elements.

Sepiana, thanks for pointing this out. I just tested with my PS Elements 2020 and the actions works fine. 

Kind regards
Chris