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How to Use the Dodge and Burn Tools to Add Depth to Your Photos

5 min read

What Dodge and Burn Actually Do (And Why Your Photos Need Them)

Have you ever taken a portrait where someone's face looked a bit flat, or captured a landscape that somehow lost the drama you saw with your own eyes? The problem often isn't your camera — it's that photographs naturally compress the range of light and shadow we perceive in real life.

That's where the Dodge and Burn tools come in. These tools in Photoshop Elements let you selectively lighten or darken specific areas of your photo, bringing back the natural depth and dimension that makes images feel alive.

The names come from traditional darkroom photography. Photographers would "dodge" light away from the paper to lighten areas, or "burn" extra light into areas to darken them. In PSE, you get the same control with simple brushstrokes.

When to Reach for Dodge and Burn

These tools shine in situations where global adjustments aren't enough:

  • Portraits: Brighten under-eye shadows or add subtle definition to cheekbones
  • Landscapes: Darken a washed-out sky or lighten a shadowy foreground
  • Group photos: Balance uneven lighting across multiple faces
  • Pet photos: Bring out detail in dark fur or bright white coats
  • Old family photos: Restore dimension to faded prints after scanning

Unlike adjusting overall brightness, Dodge and Burn let you paint light exactly where you want it.

Finding the Dodge and Burn Tools

Both tools live in the same spot in Photoshop Elements. Here's how to find them:

  1. 1Open your photo in Advanced mode (the Dodge and Burn tools aren't available in Quick or Guided modes)
  2. 2Look at the Toolbox on the left side of your screen
  3. 3Find the Sponge Tool icon — it looks like a small sponge
  4. 4Click and hold on the Sponge Tool icon to reveal the hidden tools beneath it
  5. 5Select either Dodge Tool (lightens) or Burn Tool (darkens)

Once selected, you'll see the tool options appear in the Tool Options bar at the bottom of your screen.

Understanding the Tool Options

Before you start painting, take a moment to understand these three critical settings:

Range

This tells Photoshop Elements which tones to affect:

  • Shadows: Affects the darkest areas of your photo
  • Midtones: Affects the middle tones (most natural-looking for faces)
  • Highlights: Affects the brightest areas

For most portrait work, start with Midtones. For rescuing detail in very dark or very bright areas, switch to Shadows or Highlights.

Exposure

This controls how strong each brushstroke is. Here's the key rule: start low. Set your Exposure between 5% and 15% to begin. You can always build up the effect with multiple strokes, but heavy-handed dodging or burning looks unnatural.

Brush Size

Use the bracket keys on your keyboard — [ to make your brush smaller and ] to make it larger. Match your brush size to the area you're working on.

Step-by-Step: Adding Depth to a Portrait

Let's walk through a typical portrait enhancement:

  1. 1Open your portrait in Photoshop Elements and switch to Advanced mode
  2. 2Go to Layer → Duplicate Layer to create a backup (this protects your original)
  3. 3Select the Dodge Tool from the Toolbox
  4. 4In the Tool Options bar, set Range to Midtones and Exposure to 10%
  5. 5Adjust your brush size to match the area under the eyes
  6. 6Gently brush over shadowy areas under the eyes, the centre of the forehead, and the bridge of the nose — anywhere that catches natural light
  7. 7Now switch to the Burn Tool using the same hidden tool menu
  8. 8Keep Midtones selected and Exposure at 10%
  9. 9Lightly brush along the jawline, the sides of the nose, and beneath the cheekbones to add subtle definition
  10. 10Step back and compare your edited layer with the original by clicking the eye icon next to your duplicate layer in the Layers panel

Pro Tips for Natural-Looking Results

Work gradually: Multiple light strokes always look better than one heavy stroke. If something looks overdone, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on Mac) to undo and try again with lower Exposure.

Zoom in, then zoom out: Work at 100% zoom to see detail, but regularly zoom out to check the overall effect. What looks fine up close can appear patchy from a distance.

Follow natural light: Think about where light would naturally fall on your subject. Dodging random areas looks strange — brightening where sunlight would hit looks professional.

Use a soft brush: In the Tool Options, make sure your brush has a soft edge (look for feathered edges in the brush picker). Hard-edged dodging and burning creates obvious streaks.

Fixing Common Mistakes

If you've gone too far, you have options in PSE:

  • Undo: Press Ctrl+Z repeatedly to step backwards
  • History panel: Go to Window → History and click an earlier state to jump back in time
  • Reduce opacity: If you worked on a duplicate layer, lower its opacity in the Layers panel to blend the effect

Continue learning

Now that you understand targeted light and shadow adjustments, explore these related techniques: