Dodge and burn a photo
Lighten, darken or saturate by brushing over an area.
Drop an image here, or .
Free, no sign-up. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Dodge, Burn & Sponge: how to use it
- Drop in a photo.
- Choose Dodge to lighten, Burn to darken, or Sponge to add or remove colour.
- Brush over the areas you want to change, building up gradually, then download.
Tips
- Dodge the eyes and the lit side of a face; burn the edges of the frame to draw attention to the subject.
- Several light passes look more natural than one strong one.
Dodge, Burn & Sponge: what it does and when to use it
Dodging and burning come from the darkroom, where printers held back light from parts of a print to lighten them (dodging) or gave extra exposure to darken them (burning). Here you brush over an area to lighten or darken just that part. The sponge does the same for colour, adding saturation where you brush, or removing it.
Used lightly, these are the tools behind many polished photos: brightening eyes and faces a touch, darkening a bright distracting corner, deepening a sky, or adding shape to a product by strengthening its highlights and shadows. Build the effect up with several low-strength strokes rather than one strong one.
Heavy dodging and burning quickly looks painted. Zoom out often to judge the whole picture. For overall brightness and colour, Image Adjustments is faster, and to fix the whole tonal range at once use Levels & Curves.
Dodge, Burn & Sponge: frequently asked questions
Is the Dodge, Burn & Sponge free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, the Dodge, Burn & Sponge is 100% free with no sign-up, no login and no account. The Dodge, Burn & Sponge runs in your browser, so it has no daily limit and no upload, and saves at full size with no watermark. See why it is free.
What does dodge and burn mean?
Dodging lightens an area and burning darkens it, from the darkroom technique of holding back or adding light to parts of a print. Sponge adds or removes colour. Use them to guide the eye, such as lighting a face or darkening a distracting corner.
How do I brighten only part of a photo?
Dodge over that area with a low strength, building up in several strokes. To brighten the whole photo, use Image Adjust instead.