Dodge & Burn – worth the effort?

I mean, it’s there for a reason, so it has to be right?

I never… and I mean, never… dodge & burn. I just didn’t see the need to spend more time on editing when I’m so excited to post the portraits I take. Besides, if the objective to to brighten the highlights and darken the shadows even further, can’t I just use the curve tool?

I know somewhere in the universe there’s a retoucher who’s just cringing at my shallow definition of the exercise. Uxolo, friend.

I’ve been editing for a while and seemed to get more efficient at it, which frees up some time in post-processing. With that in mind, I thought I’d give it a go and see whether this “3D” look really adds to my images.

Check out the 3 examples from recent images below. Do you think it does?

PS : It’s subtle so… squint. Okay?