One more Blend If trick for the books!

I have shown many many ways to use Blend If.  So many that I made a whole Playlist for it on my YouTube channel.  Here is another one for you to add to your notes if you are keeping score, Blend If and Dodging and Burning.

I have been on a considerable Dodging and Burning kick since I released my latest installment of the Dodging and Burning series on f.64 Elite.   Dodging and Burning is one of the best ways to really get into your image and sculpt the light to your liking.  In my opinion, there is no other editing method that makes me feel more like an artist when I am pushing pixels in Photoshop.

However, Dodging and Burning can be quite harsh.  Sometimes the brushwork that we apply can hit the highlights too hard when we burn, or the shadows can become almost ghostly looking when we dodge.  So how do we overcome that? 

With Blend If.  Blend If will allow you to taper the burn effect on highlights and the dodge effect on shadows.   The result is a much more natural final product free of tonal streaks.

As you can see in the image above, the dodged area is outlined in Magenta with no protection at first.   When we use Blend If, we can slowly taper and feather the effect of the Dodge and Burn to ensure the darkest dark areas are not washed out by the white brush,  tone curve, or dodge tool (depending on the method you use).

The result is a much more natural approach to dodging and burning that leaves your image free of streaks.  

In today’s tutorial, I will show you how to accomplish this.  Also, be sure to check out the latest Dodging and Burning Course on f.64 Elite.  It comes equipped with a killer Photoshop extension to make dodging and burning even more fun than it already is!

Learn more about the Advanced Course!

Blake Rudis
f.64 Academy and f.64 Elite are the brainchildren of Blake Rudis. While he is a landscape photographer, he is most passionate about post-processing images in Photoshop and mentoring others.

For Blake, it's all about the art and process synergy. He dives deep into complex topics and makes them easy to understand through his outside-the-box thinking so that you can use these tricks in your workflow today!
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