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Reduce unwelcome noise and color shifts with this dodge and burn workaround

Application:

Adobe Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3

Operating Systems:

Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

As we explained in the article “Dodge and burn to perfection” in this issue of Inside Photoshop, the Dodge and Burn tools are excellent choices when you need to make targeted tonal adjustments to your images. But sometimes dodging and burning can introduce unsightly noise and unwelcome color shifts, as shown in Figure A.

A

Rather than abandon your dodge and burn efforts entirely, try something different. Here’s a workaround that has the same benefits of dodging and burning, but eliminates the pitfalls. With a combination of the Brush tool and layer blending modes you can achieve the same effects.

To use the Brush tool to dodge and burn your image:

1.   ...