Intensify and Emphasize with the Dodge and Burn Tool

If you have been using Photoshop or taken one of our classes, you know the importance of non-destructive editing. This is best explained in the use of adjustment layers and masking. However, with the dodge and burn tool, non-destructive editing is a little less intuitive.

This quick tutorial will show how to use the dodge and burn tool non-destructively to intensify the clouds and water in the picture below:

Just a few simple steps...

1. Download the picture.
2. Create a new blank layer on top of the background layer.
3. Click Edit --> Fill
4. Where it says Use:, select 50% Gray, and click OK
5. Now, on your layers pallette, change the blending mode to Overlay. Your layers pallette should resemble the screenshot below.

Now, select the Burn tool and paint over the clouds and water. Use the Dodge tool and paint over the sun and clouds right under it. A brush size of about 90 works best.

To see exactly what you've done, turn off the visibility of the background layer. Good work!