[Banded Drake]

Is there a easy way to explain this stuff to a Mississippi boy ? It seams everytime i try to dodge or burn it just seams that i either have the exposure toooo light or too high ? am i missing something or do i just need to keep playing ? :o


ANd what are Mask used for in Photoshop? I have never used one cuz i dont know when or why ..... I need a book i know but i get so confussed with all the tech stuff LOL ....

......... Thanks for your time ......Shawn

[slejhamer]

Dodging: lightening selective parts of an image.
Burning: darkening seletive parts of an image.

The dodge and burn tools in photoshop are VERY sensitive. Set them to very low levels if you're going to use them at all.

Better is to use curves and levels, and then use a mask to limit the changes to where you want them.

That's all a mask does - it prevents you from applying changes where you don't want them. Think of it as painter's tape - the blue tape you use to mask off the edge of a window or moulding before you paint a wall. The advantage of masking within photoshop is that you can change the mask as you go.

Here's a great editing tutorial that uses masks as well as brightening/darkening techniques:
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/conte...ontrol.pdf

[Banded Drake]

thanks for the link , i will be reading it very soon .


........ Shawn

[Schellamo]

I've got a fantastic way to dodge and burn (this is from scott kelby's CS1 book- highly recommended)

New layer, fill with 50% grey (approx) set blend mode to 'overlay' (this will make it look like the original photo) Now choose a soft white (for dodging) or black (for burning) brush and just paint it in, vary the colour of the brush (as in light grey for a lighter dodging or dark grey for a more subtle burning) to fine-tune it. The best bit is, if you make a mistake, just paint over it with 50% grey and your back where you started!

Once you start using masks, you'll never look back, they are great!

HTH
Michelle