lisadb
veteran
Reged: 05/09/2006
Posts: 1547
Loc: Staffs
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Does anyone have any tips about the best way to go about it?
Thanks, Lisa. 
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wollemi - 'look around you, keep your eyes open and watch out' (Australian aboriginal word)
My Flickr page
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Norman
Reged: 23/09/2004
Posts: 1547
Loc: West London, UK
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The best tip I can give is to ensure that the opacity (Exposure) is set to a low level (2% or so) and make sure that the relevant tones are selected (Highlights, Midtones, Shadows).
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Regards,
Norman
www.photobox.org.uk
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the start of a new argument.
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Monobod
'Phantom' of the forum!
Reged: 03/04/2003
Posts: 5672
Loc: Just West of Norwich, Norfolk
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You can also use a freehand selection, go to 'Select....Modify.....feather. Then set a pixel radius of between 5 and 30 (experiment) depending on your selected area size. Check this with the quick mask and then use the curves control to adjust the tone level. A great way to reduce shadows on animals or birds eyes for example.
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David.
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Photos hosted by Flickr.
www.flickr.com/photos/monobod/
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I see the world thro' a viewfinder, but the world watches me via CCTV!
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Roger_Provins
Made-it Man
Reged: 22/10/2005
Posts: 2627
Loc: Gloucester, UK
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This may help
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Rog
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El Sid
Going potty
Reged: 14/04/2003
Posts: 9160
Loc: Sussex-by-the-Sea
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It's PS! There probably is no 'best' way - just lots of different ones....
Personally I have never managed to get on with the dodge and burn tools so what I do is create blank layers called Burn and Dodge. I generally set the blend mode to Soft Light or Overlay then with the brush set to the appropriate colour and an opacity of no more than 5% I paint on the blank layer over the area I want to adjust. For me the advantage if this is that I'm not changing the image layer at all, erasing is doddle if I go too far and I can further adjust the effect by varying the layer opacity if required.
Another trick I've been shown is to add a curves or levels layer masked for the area you want to adjust and then adjust the controls of the layer to taste. Because it's masked this only affects the area you want adjusted. I find this method quite useful for larger areas that don't need the kind of fine localised tuning that can be achieved with the technique above.
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Nigel
Completely BSRIPN 
ElSid Gallery
A camera in the hand is better than one in the cupboard........
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GlennH
stranger
Reged: 12/05/2005
Posts: 302
Loc: Paris
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Create a new layer, fill with 50% grey, set blending mode to overlay, then use a black or white brush set at about 10% opacity to dodge and burn.
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Glenn
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lisadb
veteran
Reged: 05/09/2006
Posts: 1547
Loc: Staffs
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Thanks for the info everyone - I'll give them all a try and see how I get on. Lisa.
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wollemi - 'look around you, keep your eyes open and watch out' (Australian aboriginal word)
My Flickr page
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PhilW
Blue Peter Badge Winner
Reged: 14/03/2007
Posts: 893
Loc: Near Wakefield, Yorkshire
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Lisa,
I do a lot of this and I do it using the "Paint with light" action that you can download off this page:
http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm
It is pretty similar to what other people have suggested, but it automates the creation of the layers.
What it does is create 2 layers - one Colour Burn and the other Colour Dodge. One with a white mask and one with a black one. To make bits lighter select the black layer and a white soft brush at around 6% opacity and just paint in the light bits. Reverse for dark.
You can be quite subtle, or go way over the top like I do by painting in more light and dark until the contrast is other worldly.
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Phil Winterbourne
http://www.pbase.com/calis
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lisadb
veteran
Reged: 05/09/2006
Posts: 1547
Loc: Staffs
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Thanks Phil - some interesting stuff on that site. I'm always a bit paranoid about downloading stuff - mainly 'cos I wouldn't know what to do if anything went wrong.  Lisa.
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wollemi - 'look around you, keep your eyes open and watch out' (Australian aboriginal word)
My Flickr page
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Monobod
'Phantom' of the forum!
Reged: 03/04/2003
Posts: 5672
Loc: Just West of Norwich, Norfolk
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Quote:
Thanks Phil - some interesting stuff on that site. I'm always a bit paranoid about downloading stuff - mainly 'cos I wouldn't know what to do if anything went wrong. Lisa.
Simple, come back to us for expert help!  
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David.
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Photos hosted by Flickr.
www.flickr.com/photos/monobod/
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I see the world thro' a viewfinder, but the world watches me via CCTV!
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