Burn Tool Techniques in Photoshop
- Perfect your photos with Photoshop burn toolphoto d"un appareil photo image by vanessa martineau from Fotolia.com
Have you ever taken a great picture of the bride and groom at a wedding, but unfortunately the sun caused the subjects to be overwhelmed with light, ruining an otherwise beautiful photograph? Thankfully that is where Photoshop can help. With the burn tool, it is possible to fix that overexposure of light. You can also use the burn tool to help contour and shade skin imperfections, or make the subject of a photo stand out. - The first technique can be used to contour a face, allowing you to hide things like puffy cheeks or a round face. To do so, choose your burn tool and adjust your brush size to fit the size of the subject's face. Set the range to "Midtones" and the "Exposure" to a low setting, somewhere around 20-35 or so. The lighter the pictures, the higher the exposure.
You may need to play with the exposure to find the shading depth you like. Then click and drag the cursor along the area you want to shadow. You may add more if needed or use the same technique to contour other areas of the face (forehead, double chin, etc). - The second technique the burn tool is used for is adding depth of light where there is none. For instance, if your subject was standing near a bright window when the photograph was taken, the excess light may have caused his face to be too bright.
Once again grab your burn tool, choose the brush size to suit the subject, and set your exposure to an acceptable number between 20-35 again. Set your range on "Highlights" this time, and with small even strokes, click and drag with the brush over your subject's face where there is too much light.
You may need to start with a small brush for small areas, like around the eyes, and then use a larger brush for areas such as cheeks and forehead. - Another technique using the burn tool can add drama to a photograph. If you want to draw the eye to a certain spot in your photograph, you can add shadow to those areas you do not want as the focus.
Begin by once again choosing the burn tool and a brush size that suits your subject. Choose "Midtones" for the range, and use a very low "Exposure" to begin with, then gradually darken the areas of shadow by either going over already burned areas again, or raising the exposure to highlight certain areas.
Click and drag your brush around the edges of your subject. If you slightly overlap your subject, don't worry, a gradual fade from the outer edges of your photograph into your subject can create a nice effect.
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