Dark, gloomy b&w landscape editing techniques

[Preston]

I avoid the burn and dodge tool in Photoshop altogether. Ia agree, it's awful. My favorite way is to burn is on a layer. It's simple: create a new layer, fill it with 50% gray and change the mode to overlay. Then paint on it with a brush at a low opacity, 3-15%. painting with black makes it darker, painting with white makes it lighter. Don't like what you did, go fill that area again with 50% gray. Don't like all of it, toss the layer, make a new one. The control (and repeatability during printing) is amazing, better than anything one can do in a darkroom. The effect can be very delicate....

Of course, if you really want to darken heavily, like this example, I would use a gradient of some sort as a make on a curve...

Lenny

This is an excellent suggestion. And, As Lenny says, you can exercise very precise control. I always used the burn/dodge tools until I learned this method along with the one given below.

You can also create a layer with the blending mode set to 'Soft Light' with 50% grey fill and do your burn/dodge on this layer. The advantage of this is that if you want to burn a bright area (say), you paint with black and the existing dark areas will not be affected, and vice versa. I also use a very low opacity for the brush. When you paint over an area repeatedly, the effect increases. I use this a lot.

--P

[foster_jb]

Hi,

One other variation of what both Lenny and Preston mention: Create a "Curves" adjustment layer, but don't edit the curves. Instead, change the Blend Mode to "Multiply." Your entire image will now be substantially darker. Click on the Layer Mask of this layer, and then invert it (Crtl-I). Your image should now be back to looking "normal." Use the (white) paintbrush to now paint on this layer, which will result in darkening wherever you paint. Of course, adjust opacity of the brush, etc.. as you see fit. This now gives you one layer to control darkening your image.

To lighten parts of your image, do the same as above, but this time set the Blend Mode to "Screen."

If you want to add contrast, create a layer as mentioned above, and set it to "Soft Light."

In all cases mentioned above, if you find you want to darken (or lighten, or contrast) more than what is being allowed by that one layer, than create another layer. Or duplicate the one you have been working on, and then adjust opacity to suit.

Best,
Foster

[bob carnie]

I like and use most of the suggestions, thats whats so great about PS, there are many , many ways to skin the cat.

Now if I can only learn how to get a huge brush size on very large files to mimic the large burn and dodge that I do in the darkroom. I find this a very limiting in PS.

Hi,

One other variation of what both Lenny and Preston mention: Create a "Curves" adjustment layer, but don't edit the curves. Instead, change the Blend Mode to "Multiply." Your entire image will now be substantially darker. Click on the Layer Mask of this layer, and then invert it (Crtl-I). Your image should now be back to looking "normal." Use the (white) paintbrush to now paint on this layer, which will result in darkening wherever you paint. Of course, adjust opacity of the brush, etc.. as you see fit. This now gives you one layer to control darkening your image.

To lighten parts of your image, do the same as above, but this time set the Blend Mode to "Screen."

If you want to add contrast, create a layer as mentioned above, and set it to "Soft Light."

In all cases mentioned above, if you find you want to darken (or lighten, or contrast) more than what is being allowed by that one layer, than create another layer. Or duplicate the one you have been working on, and then adjust opacity to suit.

Best,
Foster

[AlexGard]

thanks everyone for the great replies. Been very helpful. The book "Digital Darkroom" covers both ways you have mentioned with both the brush as well as the 50% grey layer painted over. I found this worked to some degree but I have a very hard time trying to distinguish when enough is enough, and the burnt areas become very obvious compared to parts of the image that isn't burnt. Then to counter it I try to burn midtones a little bit to help blend it but it still doesn't look right.
I'll get home and upload some images soon to show you what I mean, again it could just be that the images I'm using aren't good enough material to start with. Just lots of practice I guess....

[Peter De Smidt]

Make sure to use a very soft brush with a low opacity.