This video tutorial by portrait photographer Nathaniel Dodson (from the website tutvid) takes a look at two different ways to dodge and burn skin in Photoshop.
If you want to work on retouching your image – adding a bit to the highlights and bringing some more contrast to the dark you can use the dodge and burn tool and in this video Dodson shows two methods to help you do that more effectively.
The first and very simple method (which isn’t the one Dodson actually uses – but it is quick) is to add a 50% grey layer and use soft light blend mode and than use a soft brush to dodge and burn.
The second (better) method is to add 2 curve adjustment layers the top layer will be set to a blend mode of screen and inverted and the second (lower) layer will be set to multiply and also inverted. The lower layer will be used for burning and the upper for dodging with a 10% large soft edge brush.
One nice tip that Dodson gives in this video has to do with using the dodge and burn tools – what you need to know is that if you are using one – holding down the ALT/OPT key will give you the other tool and after you stop holding it you get back to the original tool so you can work more quickly this way.
This is not the first time we covers this topic. In the past we published here “Using Negative Dodge & Burn for Dramatic Portrait in Photoshop“, “Quickly Learn Dodging & Burning in Photoshop CC“, a “How to Color Dodge in Photoshop” and The Fastest Way to Dodge and Burn in Photoshop which are also worth checking out if you are getting into dodging and burning in PS.
You can find many more Photoshop video tutorials on LensVid’s Photoshop section. You can also check Dodson’s previous videos here on LensVid.
Iddo Genuth 
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