Dodge, burn, and sponge
How to Dodge, Burn, and Sponge in Photasium
A face in shadow, a bright window, or a colour that is too strong in one corner can be painted lighter, darker, or closer to grey. In Photasium that happens in the tab: the file never goes to a server.
Light on the layer
Dodge, burn, and sponge paint on the active raster layer. Dodge lightens the area under the brush, and midtones change the most. Burn darkens the same way. Sponge pulls the colour under the brush toward grey. Pure black and pure white stay put under dodge and burn.
Adjustments sets brightness, contrast, and saturation across the raster when you apply. Brush paints a new colour. Dodge, burn, and sponge change the pixels that are already there, only along the stroke.
A face in shade, a window that is too bright
A story often has a face in shade and a window that is too bright. Dodge the face with a large, soft stroke and a low strength. Burn the bright edge so the rest of the frame stays as it was.
Duplicate the raster first if you want the original pixels still in the stack. Layers keeps that copy.
A listing shot can take a little more light on the product and a little less on the table behind it. Dodge the product, then switch to Burn for the background. Sponge takes a tint out of one corner and leaves the rest of the frame alone.
A photo of a screen can have a glare in one corner and dim type in another. Dodge the type so it reads, and burn the glare. Sponge pulls a coloured wash toward grey when a highlight has stained the capture.
A scan that is dark along one edge can be dodged there, so the rest of the page keeps its tone. Keep the size close to the dark band and the hardness low, so the edge of the stroke blends into the page.
Dodging, burning, and sponging in Photasium
Open a photo
Open the editor, then File → Open, or drop an image on the canvas. Select a raster layer.
Choose Dodge
Click Dodge in the toolbar, or press O. Dodge, Burn, and Sponge are in the options bar. Dodge is the one that opens. The toolbar button uses the name of the mode that is selected.
Set the stroke
Size runs from 1 to 500 and starts at 48. Hardness runs from 0 to 100 and starts at 60. Strength runs from 1 to 100 and starts at 50. Press [ or ] to change size while you work. A lower strength moves the pixels less on each pass, and a second stroke goes further.
Paint
Drag on the canvas. Dodge lightens, Burn darkens, and Sponge pulls colour toward grey. Switch the mode in the options bar when you want the other one.
If a selection is active, the stroke stays inside it. Dodge, burn, and sponge need a raster layer. They paint that layer’s pixels. A selected mask does not receive the stroke. A text layer asks you to rasterize first. A locked layer will not accept the stroke. A group does not take the stroke, so select a raster inside it. Undo restores the layer to how it looked before the stroke.
The tone on the pixels
The stroke sits on the raster you painted, nothing was uploaded, and undo brings the previous pixels back. If the pass is too strong, undo and lower Strength before you paint again.
Download PNG, JPEG, or WebP if you need a file to send. Come back later and the document is still listed under the editor, until this browser’s storage is cleared. Dodge, burn, and sponge sit with the other photo editing tools: adjust the whole raster, heal a spot, and export a listing.