The Trick to Dodging and Burning in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom CC

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One thing many beginners aren't really aware of is that editing and post-processing have existed in photography ever since photography was in its first days. They were born together and unlike less educated rookies believe, it was never about being satisfied with what comes out of the camera.

One of the most basic yet important techniques for post production is dodging and burning So many landmark photos were altered with dodging and burning, yet a lot of people don't know this. It used to be done literally manually, using fingers in the darkroom in the old days. Needless to say, things are a world away today.

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But what makes dodging and burning work and why is it still being used in this day and age when are cameras are capable of incredible image quality? The simple answer is that is just makes photos look better. A more elaborate argument is that dodging is used for increasing exposure locally and thus drawing attention to a certain part of the frame, while burning is used for darkening certain parts or emphasizing shadows.

There's a big difference between dodging and burning and creating a high dynamic range photo, yet so many amateurs fail to understand that difference. These targeted adjustments are really a meticulous work with details, while blending several files together to create a HDR image is totally different, and dare I say a lot more naive.

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This is a technique that doesn't and shouldn't have to be used with every type of photo. It takes skill and imagination to use it in bringing out the full potential of an image.

Check out this awesome tutorial made by photographer Serge Ramelli.

See Full set of tips and teachings from Serge Ramelli HERE.

Learn more about dodging and burning from these recommended books: