Get the Image You Want: Essential Photoshop Editing Techniques

Correct exposure problems with dodging and burning

Using Photoshop features such as Curves and Levels to adjust the tonal values in your digital images is very effective, but often the comprehensive nature of these adjustments makes it hard to target specific areas of your image. You could apply these commands to a mask or layer style, but why go through a multi-step process when you can use the Dodge and Burn tools to make tonal adjustments in your images? These tools got their names from traditional print developing, so it might not be immediately evident what they do or how to best use them. Rest assured, the Dodge and Burn tools should be as much a part of your image-editing process as Levels or Curves, and we're going to show you how to ...