The amazing Color Dodge and Burn Blend Modes!

Dodging and Burning with Blend Modes and Colors
If you have spent any amount of time with me you know that I am always trying to come up with new ways of using Blend Modes.  I have recently started experimenting with the Color Dodge and Color Burn Blend Modes.   At first I thought they were trash at best!  That was before I figured out how to use them effectively.

The Color Burn and Color Dodge Blend Modes do not use the Opacity slider to control their effect.  These two blend modes use the FILL adjustment to control how much they apply themselves to the image.   You can use Opacity to subdue the effect, but the real magic with these blend modes and their algorithm is tied to Fill.

They are beautiful blend modes when you give them a chance, but they do require a bit of finesse to use.  Try these settings for each Blend Mode:

Color Burn

Adjustment Layer:  Color Fill (any color)
Fill:  15%
Opacity: 50%
Blend If to protect the shadows
Color Dodge

Adjustment Layer:  Color Fill (any color)
Fill:  15%
Opacity: 50%
Blend If to protect the highlights

What colors should you use for your Color Fill Layers?  Any colors really, however, I prefer to use colors that are harmonious.  These colors are typically Complementary Colors on the color wheel or colors that are directly across from one another.  Try using Blue and Yellow, Green and Magenta, or Red and Cyan.

In today's tutorial, I will show you how I use them and hook you up with some actions that do it all for you.  Before you start running those automated techniques, please watch the video so you can understand why the blend modes act the way they do.

[balamina]

Endless possibilities just with these two blending modes! Thank you so much Blake for the awesome tutorial and the tips! God bless and Good luck man!

[ashton]

You give us the technical explanation which allows me to actually learn how they work and this is where you standout for the people that actually want to understand photoshop.

[georgecharpentier]

I have wondered about the purpose of “fill”. I have a much better understanding of that now. Thank you very much!

[heathercarslake]

Another excellent learning curve for me, just got to lock myself away for a while now and practice!

[jojipt]

Very nice. First time to hear about these options. Excellent tutorial.

[RichRahalla]

Thank you! I greatly appreciate the freebies you offer so often and your detailed instructions on their use is greatly appreciated.

[drpentecost]

Great tutorial Blake. I set up my own action and it worked a treat. Dodging, Burning and Colour grading with one click. One of your best tutorials. Thanks.

[esmatmorshedy]

Each post you add to your channel is really of great value and addition to me and to my modest skill, thank you very much for this great sharing tips, If you ever be visiting Egypt, I would be more than happy to shot with you, keep the great spirit you have :)

[dunnymonster]

I like this technique, it's like split toning but with a lot more control. 😊

[JaeHaruArt]

I have legitimately learned more about Photoshop and how to use it to paint from photo manipulation tutorials than I ever have from a single art tutorial. Thanks for this one. I never knew what the fill bar did or how to apply it and now I do. : )

[bobwilliams]

This is very useful not only for color grading but for correcting color casts.

[mauriziofontana]

Thank you so much for explaining! I have find it very interesting and so simply!

[Fotoadsza]

Wow! This is incredible. Thank you so much for sharing. You explain it so brilliantly I can hardly wait to use this. Going away to the seaside next week for a short break and will have some new landscapes 🙂

[jshetley]

This was extremely helpful.  Thanks so much for posting these quick and easy tutorials.

[merim]

Absolutely amazing tutorial. Recently I was watcing many tutorials, being interested in color grading. You told me such great things. Thank you for your time and your efforts in sharing such nice tutorials. You expand my knowledge a lot. You explain precisely every single detail, whatis of great value, for us beginners.

[tommiestrydom]

love this vid and love your Z panel. Learnt so much from your workflow tutorial Thanks

[BettyHodges]

Thanks for creating the action to go along with your tutorial. I tried it out and Voila - instant improvement. PS I've always wondered what to do with those particular blend modes!!

[Retset]

Thank you. I have never used the Fill option before as I had no clue what it didi!

[LucasPitcher]

Really great tutorial, thanks Blake for demystifying these esoteric options!

[danielguimond]

Hi Blake, always great videos, like you I rarely used these 2 blend modes except on graphic effects. Using the fill mode made so much seance especially for Color grading....thanks for all you contribute as you are one of the better ones! Cheers