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I've also wondered about why use a 50% gray layer as well. And the one point there about being able to see where you dodged and burned is a pretty good reason for a lot of people. But here's the counter to that: If you are using the clear-layer type of dodge/burn, couldn't you just switch blend modes to "normal" if you want to see where you painted? Just a thought.
Hey Unmesh! I want to thank you for taking the time to create a video in response to my question. I'm truly honored. You are by far the best teacher I've ever seen on RUclips and I have learned so much from you. I certainly agree with your reasoning and see the benefit of being able to check your work. I'll take that into account from now on. Best wishes to you, my friend :)
I don't know man I have to check for my self seems like your suggestion works. And you would most likely be able to see the changes if you change the blend mode from soft light to normal. I didn't see the blend mode change.. I'm pretty sure if you're painting on a layer you'd be able to see it. 🤔🤷♂️or I just missed something 🙇
@@framefilmstudio Yeah, the disadvantage he pointed out about the transparent layer has never been an issue for me personally, because as you said, you can simply set the blend mode to normal real quick if you really need to check where you've marked (granted it wont be quite as easy to see as it would be on a gray layer). But for me personally, I usually find that simply toggling the dodge/burn layer on and off is plenty sufficient for my needs. Perhaps if I was going to work on a super complex photoshop project, I'd need the extra gray layer clarity, but so far that hasn't been the case.
@@andrewmccarty yeah but you still have to change the layer blending mode for the grey layer as it's on screen or overlay. So the steps are the same. 🤷♂️
@@framefilmstudio Yeah, I agree that it doesn't seem to provide any significant advantage that's worth the reduction in efficiency. At least not in my experience.
If visibility over a transparent layer is the problem, then we can just momentarily place a grey layer beneath to find the difference. This way, we would have the advantage of using the transparent layer. I find this to be easy than to change the brush colour to grey to black to white!!
Honestly I thought at the start of this video that it was going to be sarcastic and you were going to throw shade, but the fact that you took the time to research, explain why he was right, and really praise him for teaching YOU something... That's different, man. You're brilliant, please never stop!
Not realizing I was "supposed" to use a grey layer, I've always dodged and burned without it. I love the fact that you, as the instructor, are open to suggestion. A trait of true integrity.
Yes, you can dodge and burn onto the original image but this is destructive. Using a separate layer lets you erase or change what you have done more easily. You can always keep an untouched copy of the original layer and use it to replace bits that you have messed up but then the edges of that patch may be hard to match.
This was what I was thinking as he was describing the disadvantage of the transparent D&B. I'm definitely going to lose the old technique and adopt this technique instead. I love the ability to use the erase tool so swiftly to correct.
That's actually an easy question to answer: The use of a 50% gray filled layer comes from many retouchers actually using the dodge tool for dodging and burning instead of painting with white and black. You can just set the dodge tool to midtones and paint with it to lighten and area and hold down the Alt/Option key while painting to momentarily switch to the burn tool to darken an area. That was the way non-destructive dodge & burn was done years ago. At some point someone was unhappy that lightening shadows often resulted in cooler or less saturated color tones and started painting on the gray layer instead of using the dodge tool. That person did not paint with black and white though, but with slightly tinted colors to fix tonal and color faults in one go. I personally prefer to fix color issues on a seperate layer, but yeah, that is how painting on the gray layer came into life and some younger people never knew the original method with the actual dodge tool that needed the gray to work. :)
came here to write about this and saw your comment wich I totally agree with. I just want to add a thing. There is still people teaching and giving tutorials that are miss guiding people on how Dodge and burn tool works. They teach to use Dodge and burn tools switching.. attention to this: between shadows and Highlights... over a 50% gray layer on soft ligth mode, in belief that they are targeting the shadows or highlights in the layer below, but It doesnt, it just affects a solid gray color in a plain way, totaly unrelated with the layer below.
Does the protect tones selection not work, as I use the tools? Also I have dodge set to mid tones at 3% and burn set to highlights at 3% does that make sense?
If you want to have the cake and eat it too, just create 2 layers inside a group. The one on top is transparent and the other one below is 50% gray. Both are set to normal and the WHOLE GROUP is set to soft light / overlay. That way you can use the eraser on the transparent layer while still retaining the ability to put the group to normal and see the work you did.
I've been using a blank layer for a long time due to eraser convenience. Back in time I asked myself the same question, did basically the same tests and got the same results. You're the first RUclipsr I see questioning the reason. Congrats on your channel, you are a great instructor!
If I want to add film grain to an image, I'll create a 50% gray layer and apply the film grain filter to that layer. Then I can adjust the blend mode and opacity of the layer to get the level of grain I want. But the deal is, the film grain filter does not work on a blank layer. The gray is required. So if you want to apply a filter texture to your image using the dodge and burn principle, you'll need a gray layer.
I appreciate that Unmesh not only provides great content, this also speak very well about you, the pursue for results with a humble and more scientific approach, kudos to you!
Howdy! My experience is speaking as a production artist for animation, and in this industry one of the challenges in painting is keeping everything as consistent and as repeatable as possible -- I work as part of a team of artists, and each of our paintings needs to match up as best we can. At any time someone on my crew might need to pull a color from my PSD, or replicate an effect. For that reason I really like the gray-layer method because it does make it easier to see and fine-tune painting of those values and their middle-ranges! Say you need to refine paintwork in the midtones around the borders of a highlight or a shadow. To get that value, you might want to use the eyedropper set to Current Layer Only on the dodge/burn layer. If that value is a mix of the highlight and transparency, and you try to color-sample one of the middle values between the brighter or darker colors, it won't work. Color+Transparency= Same color. If it's applied over a gray value however, those middle ranges ARE their own unique colors and you can eyedrop them! In this way, the gray gives you more control. This is mostly a need for graphic design/illustration of large projects. If exact consistency across many files is important, I'd recommend gray-values. If you're working on a single photo/illustration and you can be a little freer in your workflow, can go either way :)
I agree, with Photoshop there are so many ways to achieve the same result, however on some things there has to be a industry standard and 50% grey works so stick with it.
If it's all about seeing then just make an extra 50% gray layer. Separate the gray from the dodging and burning, and maintain the freedom from the hassle of picking colors to "erase". The argument against painting on gray is because it's cumbersome after all.
Well, I think the answer is pretty simple.. Since we are dodging and burning we normally use the dedicated tools (dodge or burn tool), and if you want to work non destructively using these tools you need the gray layer instead of the transparent for their effects to appear. If you try dodging or burning on a transparent layer there is no info for the tools to work with, but in the gray layer there is. Hope this made sense :)
@Emperor Guardiola The dodge and burn tools used to avoid problems with color shifting and needed a gray layer to work, but since 2006 you have no purpose using those decade old tools over the brush tool unless it's for a quick dirty edit, as the same algorythm is used in calculating what the brush results are. One needs a gray layer, the other one doesnt, they are exactly the same behind the scene. that change came with the "protect tones" checkmark on the updated D&B tools. He's not using improperly the wrong tools, he's just using the up to date industry standard for high level retouching, ie : the brush. And even using the brush as a new "standard" comes from the fact that it had an easy switch between D&B by pressing X while the old tools had not. It's not true anymore, as you can press alt on D&B tools to do the same, but it wasnt included until a few years ago, so the pros with huge workloads migrated towards the fastest and most efficient tool at the time to do the same thing. The only reason it still exists is that it was the way most people learned way back in the days, and that it seems simpler when you dont know how to manage your brush parameters with shortcuts.
@@abbyll It used to produce artifacts, about 15 years ago, now it's the exact same. i know personally 4 high end retouching pros in Paris, 2 use B&B tools, 2 use the brush, all do the exact same work, with the same results =) the only difference is their age, ie : when they attended school. I learnt with the brush about 6 years ago, it was even part of a special set of classes we had about "how to do the same thing in photoshop a 100 different ways, and how to choose the right approach for the job at hand'' It's like making a white square, back before the vector tools in photoshop, you would make a square twice the size you need, apply some anti aliasing, then reduce it to fit. Now you draw a damn vector square and that's it.
@@abbyll No, i think not. You can in the dodge burn tool adjust vor witch light it works. You can say: i only want change the highlights. Or only the Shadows. It makes many things easy.
Funny thing is, there are so many ways of achieving the same thing in Photoshop! There's curves, dodge and burn tools, gray layer, etc. and we have the choice to choose what's most convenient to us.
Many of us have just gotten stuck in habits, and the old school approach of using a gray layer is one of those, dating back to what others have pointed out about using the actual D&B tools on a layer directly. At some point, someone notice painting was easier to control, but we didn't bother skipping the 50% gray fill. Katrin remembers all of that, I'm sure. WAAAAY back, I tried working directly on a very low-value High Pass sharpening layer to see details more easily by switching the blending mode to normal, but that was really just pointless and an additional step. Kind of a "Stupid Photoshop Tricks" thing.
I use grey layer with 50%grey instead of using the erasertool i just alt+eye icon om the Grey layer and sample that grey and paint out/ soften an area with the brush tool fastest way for me since its my go to method
top layer: blank for dodge/burn middle layer: hidden grey layer to check where you painted bottom layer: subject perfectly balanced, as all things should
You're awesome and humble, too. You are an outstanding Photoshop artist who has freely given his talents so others can learn. There aren't many people like that on this planet.
Consider this as another plus for using the transparent layer: You can dodge and burn using a colour other than white or black to affect highlights and shadows. Consider dodging using the hex code ffdd99 which would add a warm sunshiny highlight, particularly if you target it using luminosity masks. This is just one example of d&b using colours.
FYI. I am a digital artsit. When I do 'photo retouch' like most you guys do, yes, I quite often use the blank layer. But when I do compositing, I make doezens of D/B layers and I always use Grey on purpose. There are 2 reasons. 1. As already mentioned in this video around 8:00, Grey makes easier for you to check the D/B layer. 2. Before doing the previous step, you have to spot thr D/B layer itself first, of course. But it's not easy if you have doezens of them amongst hundreds of other layers in the layer panel. Grey makes way easier for you to search those D/B layers. If a Grey layer is cumbersome, blank layers are a nightmare. Once again, it'd not be a problem if you use only one D/B layer snd less than 10 layers over all for photo retouching, but it's critical for people like me who makes dozens of D/B layers. You might say 'Why don't you organized them by naming, grouping & colouring layers?' Of course I do all of them, but still one group sometimes contains 50 layers with a dozen of D/B layers. Grey layers stand out. Blank layers will slow me down like hell.
But you can use a specific color to identify your D/B layers so that you can spot them easily. I mean, it takes two secs to set the foreground color to 50% gray and then paint an empty layer to start working on, yes, but it takes one sec to make a new layer and assign it a color in the layers panel. Whatever works best for you is fine of course! Cheers
Your closing statement alone is worth more than any series of tutorials!!! I have seen so many false or questionable claims propagated and repeated over the years, and questions are responded with belligerent answers (evident that the person didn't have any supporting facts or ideas of his/her own) . Your one of my favorite instructors, often giving different approaches to solving problems along with a clear understanding of why things work -- not just a re-iteration of the same meaningless set of steps that can be found on hundreds of other videos.
Why not when using the transparent layer, put a gray behind your main image making it the background layer.? This will give you a canvas to see where your edits are, as you toggle on and off your main image.
I was thinking the same thing. If we use the transparent layer method we could drop a grey layer below it if we want to visualise it and turn it off when not needed and enjoy erase functionality. But then again its 1 extra layer.
Exactly, put a grey layer beneath and do your painting on a separate transparent layer. The grey layer can be set to soft light/overlay and will be invisible while the bg layer is displayed, but PS will show it as grey when the bg is hidden.
right, I thought the same, for me that even better because you can just enable/disable the layer instead of changing the blend mode... great video though
Thank you for your open minded and positive approach. This not only made me think about "why" but it also helped me better understand what really is thought of as a fundamental skill, but isn't. You are a true professional and a true teacher.
When I first learned about 50% gray layer dodging and burning layers (many years ago now) it was always used as a way of mitigating the possibility of overdoing the effects of the dodge and burn tools. This also avoided the issue of increasing saturation as we didn't have the protect tones option in dodge and burn either. We never painted directly on the layer with black and white paint. Painting with black or white paint directly was a separate technique used on a blank layer. I think, that, over time, people have amalgamated and confused the two techniques. This is perhaps understandable given the simplicity and controllability of painting and switching between black and white with the X key. It seems odd now, but we didn't seem to know about the alt-key trick to switch between the dodge and burn tools on the fly back then. Perhaps it wasn't invented yet?
Brilliant conclusion!!! Bravo. My opinion is next. My first Photoshop version was ...2.0 a long ago. Since then a lot of things have changed in the industry in the economy. About 10 years ago I realized that photoshop can be a Hobby and Business if you do a project for 10 minutes, it is a business. If you do the same job for 1 hour, it is a hobby. Of course, I am not talking here about Hi-End editing, when time is not (almost not) a factor. Here I think exactly the case Hobby/Business. In photoshop you can achieve same result by using a number of different techniques and none of those are a "Must Use Technique". So after this video, I definitely will use the Grey layer in my Hi-End editing projects (Some time I charge several hundred dollars per picture.). Thanks for the deep examination and "free" sharing.
Amazing UMESH a unmatched online Photoshop teachers ever seen. You defined and cleared the things very rare I've seen. You are great and master piece of Photoshop.
Thanks for showing it's the same. It's a long time I'm not using 50% gray for dodging and burning. Instead I use always the transparent layer, I've even forgotten the 50% technique! I use a F10 key to create instantly a new layer in Soft light mode and I use it almost at any of my editions, usually with a soft 10% black or white brush but sometimes painting in color too with very low opacity, many times in combination with a mask for refining after. Works wonderfully and, important, is very very quick and easy to adjust
Your reason is exactly right and literally the only reason you need to have it on a grey layer. I have never used a grey layer for D&B and if it is a complex edit you can simply place any colored layer between them to see a map of what you have done. That isn't even necessary if you work in quadrants. I love how you are open to new discovery and technique. One of the amazing qualities of PS is that there are literally countless ways to get to the same result. Keep up your amazing work and I'll keep watching!!
Doesnt matter what was the actual reason , but your assumption ( to make it more visible) is quite useful and we can take it as a pro for using 50% grey ...
You are absolutely the best mentor from the internet! By far. Great noise and awesome video quality. I learned so much and want to learn a lot more from you. Thank you so much!!
I'm Stanley Lema from Africa, Cameroon. I have been following and taking most of your lessons on Photoshop on your RUclips channel. I wish to say that you're an amazing teacher any student can go for. Kudos with the outstanding job you're doing, especially for those of us who are not opportune to meet you personally.
9:16 🔴 *ANSWER: You can still use the eraser tool in a gray layer 😐. That will work, it will make the parts that you erase transparent. Transparent and gray is the same thing in a soft light layer. But, when you use use a gray layer, It will be easier to see the edits. You can also use the dodge tool and the burn tool instead of using the brush tool*
It's an interesting technique. I use the empty layer most for highlight some parts. The argument of the eraser tool is reasonable. But I have another reason why you should use the technique with the empty layer. An empty layer is not as big as a grey layer. When you're working with more DB Layers (specially in High End Retouching), your file will be a lot heavier with grey layers than using empty layers. Thats a big point for me to use empty layers. And the eraser tool is a great idea.
I'm very impressed by how humble Unmesh is. Instead of acting like a "know-it-all" and ignoring the question, you took the time to do some research and address and humbly admit that the question is valid. Great job Unmesh. That's one of the reasons so many people watch your videos! Keep it up
Maybe the reason is you can apply filters on top of gray which you can't do on a transparent background. Like adding noise for example. If you add noise to the layer it won't affect the transparent parts and it will look weird. If you use noise on top a grey layer it will affect the whole picture. Also lighting changes with noise will look more natural and the banding with noise is less visible.
I like the clear layer way for one reason, it is a shortcut and saves lots of editing time! Thanks for the heads up! I am glad you spend the time to explain these things! Moonpie
Hello Unmesh, thanks a lot for this very useful tip! Like almost everyone it works in GIMP (wich I use) as well. Great!! What works for me even as well as I think it should work in Photoshop: Switch the layer-background from chessboard to grey-only and there is no problem controlling even subtile correktions - looks just as doing them on a grey layer. btw: You explain that understandable, you are that smart - thank you for being out there!
As many others, coming from the old years of Photoshop I learned to dodge and burn using the 50% gray filler. But over the years things have changed so why techniques can't change too? I started using the transparent layer a couple years ago and never looked back at the 50% gray. Using the eraser is so convenient I would choose it over a slight colour cast issue, if there was one (there isn't). In the meantime, I changed my technique again recently, moving to 2 separate layers for dodging and burning. Dodging with white brush on its layer with Overlay blending mode, and burning on its own with Soft Light. To me this gives me the best results. It may depend on the images and sometimes I need a quick turnaround and do it in one layer, but it works brilliantly and I have more control over my edits, which is the whole point. Frankly, I watched this video fearing I was doing it wrong but I'm glad so far it doesn't look like it's the case... phew 😅 Cheers Unmesh
Fabien, I wonder why you use Overlay for dodging and Soft Light for burning? What is the main difference? I've always just used Soft Light and a 50% gray layer (as most people), but after watching this video am going to start using transparent layers. Any explanation would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
@@pavinder Actually, I do understand why for White you would use Overlay and for Black you would use Soft Light. Especially when doing human portraits, one tends to brighten the skin since, for the most part, images out of camera tend make the skin a bit too dark for what looks natural to the human eye (unless you know your stuff and get proper lighting on the first go in camera). So, setting the White to Overlay helps you brighten a little more than what you actually need. On a layer above that, setting the Black to Soft Light gives you more control on areas that need to be slightly darkened without going overboard. If you set both to the same Blending Mode, you have a high likelihood of losing that control. (Although, that method may be just what you need.) However, afterwards, it would be good practice to adjust both layers' opacity until you reach the look you're aiming for. As is the case with EVERYTHING in Photoshop, this is just one tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of techniques for achieving the same exact thing. Remember that one technique will work better (more efficiently) in one situation than another. Give everything a try until you find what works for your project.
@@GKOALA7 Thanks for explaining it so well. For some reason, RUclips did not notify me of your replies so I only saw them today because I wanted to check if there had been a new video on the matter. Apologies for the lack of replies from me so far. I appreciate that I have added complexity to something that used to be fairly straightforward (one layer, one blending mode, just press X to switch black and white) but ultimately I have more granular control over my edit this way and I find the results more appealing to my eye. On top of what you so well said... Even with the same blending mode I would still use 2 layers in some images, particularly complex landscapes, because there may be areas where dodging and burning are crossing or are very close to each other and I would not be able to erase one without affecting the other if they were on the same layer. Thanks for taking the time to answer. 🙌🏻
@@pavinder Hi there. Apologies for the lack of replies: for some reason, RUclips never notified me of your questions so I only saw them today because I wanted to check if there had been a new video on the matter. The answer from @GKOALA7 is correct and it's something I have found giving me more control and more pleasing results. It adds complexity and sometimes it's not even too noticeably different from using the same blending mode but give it a try, maybe you'll like it ;) Thanks for your comment!
love the little tests you did to debunk theories i think transparent layers for dodging and burning would be good for quick fixes and edits but the advantages of the grey layer still allow for precision and knowing that you have actually dodged and burned where you wanted it to be.
thank you unmesh for all the tutorials you made yes I am a beginner using photoshop and i want to master it. right now I learnt a little bit because of you more power to you and god bless.from Philippines
I think you use the empty layer all the way until you have finished with D&B with all the erasing and touch-ups you need, and then merge that with a grey layer underneath and set the merged layer to the desired blending mode. That way you get the best of both worlds.
first of all... I'm used to the gray layer (mad an action to quick start ist) and your argument is really strong. thx 4 sharing all that stuff. :-) cheers from Switzerland
My theory is that many years ago it was required for some kind of technique, maybe even Photoshop required it. Then things improved, but people got stuck to old habits.
If you idiots were observant enough you’d realise he didn’t actually use the PS dodge and burn tools. He only used the brush tool. The whole point of the gray layer is to prevent colour shifts when using the PS dodge and burn tools. The PS D&B tools are for exposure, whereas in this video he was using the brush tool, manipulating only the colour. Worst video he’s ever done.
@@hullstar242 Im not so sure that it's industry standard. The one people I see painting with white and black instead of actually dodging and burning are youtube channels teaching PS. The professionals I know still actually dodge and burn using the appropriate tools.
I learnt to use the actual dodge and burn tool on the grey layer, and I have used it for a lot of fantasy paintings that requires A LOT of dodging and burning. And I was told in numerous tutorials that focused on fantasy artwork was that you could see your work in the grey layer. Also using the smudge tool can almost erase mistakes, because you smudge the grey back into the other colours. But I do believe it's so you can see your work and identify the layer easily when working with numerous layers.
I also use 50% gray for dodging and burning. Mathematics can be solved with different formulas, just like photography & post processing can be solved in different ways. But all the different paths may have some slight differences. This is user freedom only.
Great job as always. I'm a huge fan and I've learned so much with your so pedagogical videos. I won't argue on grey or blank layer for dodge and burn. As you say each has its advantages and inconvenients. One thing i'm sure of is that neither soft light or overlay are the better blend mode to achieve it. Linear Light with a fill of 15/20 % gives you better control on the intensity and is more respectful on the colors. If I could i'll sent you screen captures to show it but just try it on a color gradient, i think you'll see what i mean. Respectfully
The answer: Abandon both of those methods and use curves, one for dodge, one for burn, with inverted layers masks. Then do your dodging and burning. The masks let you see your work and make easy adjustments by simply switching between black and white brushes, it's non-destructive, and you can independently work on the dodging and burning.
The nice thing about using gray layer is that i can change between dodge and burn by simply pressing "x". Although two curves layers may be better in other ways, its more cumbersome to work with imo. But maybe there is a simple shortcut i missed to switch layers....?
@@joakimolsson1024 Alt (or option if you're on a mac) brackets is the keyboard shortcut to move between layers, but that may not be much faster than just doing it with your mouse. So can't really help you there. Cumbersome...maybe, but the reason curves is better than a grey layer anyway is because a curves layer directly affects the shadows and highlights from the image, versus a grey layer which is simply painting either black or white upon the image little by little. So technically, it's a more realistic dodge and burn anyway. I've bought a few different dodge and burn tutorials from industry professionals and all of them use the curves dodge and burn approach. But whatever works for you.
This is what I do as well. Another good thing is you can always change the curves later if needed along with the Brush Strokes, and can easily see what you're doing to each mask.
Great video! Saves a lot of tedious clicking you can just add a black and a white layer to see those minor changes you can't see on the transparent layer.
FYI - none of the techniques which Unmesh explains are his... all of the techniques he demonstrates were created by commercial retouchers over the past 30 years.
I'm pretty sure the only main difference between dodge & burn on 50% grey over a transparent layer is the difference in file size. Painting using black and white in the 50% grey layer results in a SMALLER file size than painting exactly the same number of pixel values in a transparent layer. Keeping working file sizes down is an important step to keeping photoshop running smoothly and quickly while working on large files (or a number of different files at the same time). I love that there are so many ways to work to achieve almost exactly the same results, and many are just down to the individual user's preference. Have learned loads watching your vids so happy to share some knowledge. Keep up the good work man!
For the last issue, I suppose you could include an extra layer in grey beneath the transparent layer and momentarily toggle that layer to see exactly where you have dodged/burned. Excellent comment and video!
Well, most people have already listed the reason - it’s because of the dodge and burn tool the comes with Ps. Here are the all the methods of dodging and burning as I understand: Method 1. Using Dodge & Burn tools of Ps on 50% grey layer Method 2: Using White and Black brush on a transparent layer in soft light/overlay (something even hard light for stronger highlights) blending mode. Advantage is both Dodge and Burning can be on a single layer. Method 3. Using White and Black brush on a 50% grey layer in soft light/overlay (something even hard light for stronger highlights) blending mode. No discernible advantage over transparent layer method except being able to visualize the brush strokes. Method 4: Using two separate curves (one for dodge & one for burn). My preferred method for skin retouch. Because it has most about of control and the effect can be easily dialed in separately for dodge and burn. Method 5: Using multiple Solid Fill adjustment layers in Soft Light/Overlay/Hard Light blending mode. My preferred method for dodge and burn with color to enhance makeup/blush etc on portraits or enhancing depth both via color and light simultaneously or for selective saturation painting. Refer “Dodge & Burn Master Class” by Greg Benz where he compares all the methods and lists advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Your method four is perhaps the most consistent method across multiple types of photo editing software as well, in terms of simplicity and manipulation.
Hi! I first want to say I love your videos. I know I'm a little late to watching this one, but I think the answer to why the gray layer is so widely used, in addition to the reasons you mentioned is that because if you use the dodging and burning tool, not the brush with white or black, it doesn't work on a transparent layer. There have to be some pixels on the layer for it to affect. The gray layer comes in because we don't want to work on the original layer for non destructive purposes. I like the brush technique with transparent layer when I don't need as much control, but if I need to dodge/burn something and limit it to just the highlights or just the shadows of the original image I will use the D&B tool with the gray layer.
Hi, I am not a expert PS user but love your videos. This subject of dodging and burning is interesting and I have learned a lot here. As a novice I have always taken a simpler approach to making "quick" corrections with D&B. I create a copy layer of the entire image or section that needs adjustments such as d&b or other modifications and do my d&b on that layer usually with larger brushes than necessary but less exposure. This creates a softer edged blend to my eye. To make finer adjustments I then change the opacity of that layer to soften the overall and get a fairly natural and improved effect. This approach also allows me to "soft" erase edges, blur , sharpen etc the top layer and still have the first layer untouched and accurate. I have a lot of control of the second "fix" layer and can duplicate more layers to make other adjustments and maintain sections I like in other layers so I don't loose them. Blending the layers opacity can give nice and natural results...at least to my eye. Toggling the layers allow you to see the areas that you have worked easily. This approach may not work for professional use for many reasons but it works for my applications and is fairly simple.
Use 50% gray when using the dedicated dodge and burn tools to avoid color shifts. You use the brush tool when you D&B, so you don't get the color shifts inherent to the dedicated D&B tools in PS. Back in the day, PS's brush tools and layer qualities weren't so refined.
Think this is the best answer today! The "back in the day" part actually made me think. Unfortunately that means that today DnB tool is almost unnecessary if you are somewhat skilled in applying the pressure and amount with the brush manually
@@jasonfella265 He wasn't using Dodge and Burn tool. He used brush both on the gray layer and on the normal layer. Dodge and Burn tool will color shift on normal layer
The dodge and burn tools used to avoid problems with color shifting and needed a gray layer to work, but since 2006 you have no purpose using those decade old tools over the brush tool unless it's for a quick dirty edit, as the same algorythm is used in calculating what the brush results are. One needs a gray layer, the other one doesnt, they are exactly the same behind the scene. that change came with the "protect tones" checkmark on the updated D&B tools. He's not using improperly the wrong tools, he's just using the up to date industry standard for high level retouching, ie : the brush. And even using the brush as a new "standard" comes from the fact that it had an easy switch between D&B by pressing X while the old tools had not. It's not true anymore, as you can press alt on D&B tools to do the same, but it wasnt included until a few years ago, so the pros with huge workloads migrated towards the fastest and most efficient tool at the time to do the same thing. The only reason it still exists is that it was the way most people learned way back in the days, and that it seems simpler when you dont know how to manage your brush parameters with shortcuts.
Thanks for this clear video. I was using the grey layer method in the past but now i really think that the transparent layer is much more convenient. For the unique little drawback it's always possible to put a grey layer under the transparent layer; this grey layer can be hide when dodging and burning and unhide when we want to check the strokes involved in the correction.
I've been using photoshop for thirty years and I can remember the first time I used a grey layer for non destructive dodge and burn. I'm pretty sure the original reason for using the grey layer was so that you could continue to use the Dodge and Burn Tools (rather than changing to a black or white brush with low opacity).
Yes, I think this has been overlooked. You cannot use the dodge and burn tool on a blank layer, nothing happens. So, instead you use a black and white brush on a blank layer and turn it to soft light. Here's the real trick though, when you use the dodge and burn tools on a 50% grey layer you change it to Linear Light, and you don't get the color shifts that come from using a Soft Light layer. Peace!
Hey, I came across your video and actually have a pretty strong answer for gray that I've experience in my workflow- Working from 50% gray allows you to actually use the dodge and burn tools on the layer and not just black/white brush. This gives you the capability to limit stacking impacts on work already done. For example, if you add a little bit of highlight, but want to add a shadow adjacent, you can limit you burn to midtones and shadows, and it won't impact the highlights you just put in as heavily. Your range of capabilities in much greater this way when using a gray layer vs using a blank layer. Similarly, when using a blank layer, you're stacking absolute values. If you paint over a burned in shadow with white, you are taking a X% step based on flow rate towards absolute white (linear increase), while dodging the gray layer a little more dynamic, stepping away from the shadow by a percentage, midtones by a percentage, and highlights by a percentage. If all you're doing is adding white and black to the gray layer, there's not much difference, but if you use the dodge and burn tools on the gray layer, you open up a whole set of new tools where you can limit what previous work you affect, and you get a bunch more control over what happens. And, at the end of the day, if you're missing your eraser, just set your brush to 50% gray, and use dodge and burn for white and black, respectively. Then you're effectively using all tools, and gaining all benefits. Hope that helps.
I guess that's true for this method, but if you are using the curves adjustment layer method, you can see via a mask where your adjustments are made. I personally use a separate layer for dodging and burning. Then I can adjust the opacity of each layer.
Gamechanger! Have been teached this 25 years ago .... 1. Works fine, even when duplicating the layer to make it extreme 2. If I want to see the d+b, just but a grey layer below ;) 3. Erasing is the key, I personally just turn the pencil (Wacom) Thank you.
Hi. I love your channel, I learn a lot from your videos. The reason for the layer with 50% gray is because the dodge & burn technique was usually done with the dodge tools and burn tools overexposing and underexposing on the gray layer. impossible to do in a transparent layer. Thanks for your videos and sympathy. Greetings from Spain.
I am convinced we don't need to create a 50% grey layer. Amazing. However you suggest one problem--can't see see the dodging and burning on the empty layer. Easy solution. Double click on the layer to open the properties, click the box for Color Overlay and pick a nice bright color. Voila. You can see what you did in that color on the image. If I showed you something that you didn't already know I will have to admit I've come along way. You are truly the master.
Hi, What I do is apply a 'Color Overlay' Layer effect (choose a bright obvious color) to the invisible layer. Then you can just click the eye icon to make it visible when you need to see where you've dodged or burned... works well.
My reason to use the 50% gray is that I also use for example noise and emboss techniques to add pore structures. And that doesn't work on an empty layer. For just "painting with light" it's a cool alternative.
I would recommend another method to make the dodging and burning visible: Instead of painting on grey, paint black and white on a transparent layer so you can use the eraser, but have a grey layer directly underneath the dodge/burn layer. Set that grey layer to invisible while painting. If you want to see where your retouches are located, just turn the visibility on to check. That is easier to do than changing the blend mode of your dodge layer to check. So now you have the best of both worlds. The one downside to this is that your layer stack will become very long if you use a great number of dodge and burn layers, but if that isn't the way you work you should be fine.
@@eartho Had you read CaptainFutureman's comment properly, you'd have known he said something else entirely. He was saying that if you want to check your dodges and burns within a transparent layer, just use a grey layer underneath it that you turn off when painting.
This tut is exactly why I recommend fellow artist to watch your videos. Nothing is taken for granted, everything is explained VERY well and on top it is free for everybody. I learnt so much from your tutorials, thanks a lot..... and keep creating ;D
Love watching your channel. I would think that the gray layer came into play back when most everyone was using the dodge and burn tool. Over time people started using the brush tool and kept the same workflow. What do you think?
I use the gray layer because I like to see what I do easily, and if I make a mistake and want to fix it, I take with the dropper (alt) a sample of the gray layer that I have not modified and paint with that gray at 50%, like that I correct the error ... I still think that the blank layer is a good option ... Unmesh I follow your videos and I think without hesitation that you are a genius and I thank you with the generosity that you share your knowledge !! Regards
Even the issue of not seeing the changes easily on the transparent layer can be fixed to get the best of both worlds. Create a transparent layer on top of a grey layer and group them. Then set the blend mode of the group to overlay/soft light. Now you can do your dodge and burn on the transparent layer. If you want to see changes and erase them just change the blend mode of the group back to normal. Nice video!
Well done Unmesh , I really appreicate how you encouage to be open minded to question everything..... as a professional designer the tips and tricks to maneuver through photoshop is really about repetition and how to get from one point to another. The fun is discovering a different path.... There's no right or wrong. ☮
You've heard this before, and you're about to hear it again: You rock harder than Gibraltar. Seriously. You're an exceptional instructor. For an instructor to have the fluency of information in what they teach is a given (we hope). Your innate ability to teach that information as clearly, anticipatory, and enjoyable?...It's a gift. Thank you for sharing it.
😀 Thank you very much Unmesh, definitely, everything I learn on your channel I put into practice and then I look for other ways to do the same. I think the saying "all roads lead to Rome" applies very well here. I have always thought and verified that throughout Adobe there are always many ways to do the same, with fewer or more clicks, with commands, without commands, etc. I think Cristian's point is very valid 👏, I also thank him for exposing one more way to do it. I have seen people who do it with 50% gray layer + tools on expose or sub-expose and use the gray to erase, having control over ranges of tones (lights, shadows and media) in "range", I also find it interesting, but what I see a bit more complicated. I think the issue here is, what process do we feel most comfortable with? I said at the beginning that everything I learn on your channel I put into practice, but not everything I apply to my workflow hahaha, the matter is that. Thanks again, greetings from El Salvador, CA. 🇸🇻
Great quick topic to address Unmesh! I never thought about that. Thanks for taking the time to compare them. Here is my thought. When you get to the end and mention a possible reason to continue with gray for visibility, you could easily add a solid color layer below the D&B Soft Light layer and turn off it's visibility. This would allow you to use the transparent version and gain the benefit of the eraser tool, and if you need to see what you have done just toggle the visibility of underlying solid color layer. That way you have the best of both.
Hi Unmesh, can you make a tutorial for removing complex brackground. Im having a hard time to edit pics with complex background. if your curious about the pic I can email it to you :) looking forward for your reply :)
after going through the video more - an alternative you could use would be to set a D&B action to create a 50% gray softlight and a transparent working layer above it. That would allow you to have the visibility and eraser functionality with no addditional effort.
Hey Awesome Creator! If you are want to learn how to fix banding, please watch the following videos:
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plz make a video on glow effect plzz
Please make a video on dark skin (Indian) portrait editing.
I've also wondered about why use a 50% gray layer as well. And the one point there about being able to see where you dodged and burned is a pretty good reason for a lot of people. But here's the counter to that: If you are using the clear-layer type of dodge/burn, couldn't you just switch blend modes to "normal" if you want to see where you painted?
Just a thought.
This video was awesome... Thank you so much.... And i request you to please keep this beard style.... U look superb 👌
@@mehwishshahzad9145 i agree for that
plase make it
Hey Unmesh! I want to thank you for taking the time to create a video in response to my question. I'm truly honored. You are by far the best teacher I've ever seen on RUclips and I have learned so much from you. I certainly agree with your reasoning and see the benefit of being able to check your work. I'll take that into account from now on. Best wishes to you, my friend :)
I don't know man I have to check for my self seems like your suggestion works. And you would most likely be able to see the changes if you change the blend mode from soft light to normal. I didn't see the blend mode change.. I'm pretty sure if you're painting on a layer you'd be able to see it. 🤔🤷♂️or I just missed something 🙇
@@framefilmstudio Yeah, the disadvantage he pointed out about the transparent layer has never been an issue for me personally, because as you said, you can simply set the blend mode to normal real quick if you really need to check where you've marked (granted it wont be quite as easy to see as it would be on a gray layer). But for me personally, I usually find that simply toggling the dodge/burn layer on and off is plenty sufficient for my needs. Perhaps if I was going to work on a super complex photoshop project, I'd need the extra gray layer clarity, but so far that hasn't been the case.
@@andrewmccarty yeah but you still have to change the layer blending mode for the grey layer as it's on screen or overlay. So the steps are the same. 🤷♂️
@@framefilmstudio Yeah, I agree that it doesn't seem to provide any significant advantage that's worth the reduction in efficiency. At least not in my experience.
If visibility over a transparent layer is the problem, then we can just momentarily place a grey layer beneath to find the difference.
This way, we would have the advantage of using the transparent layer.
I find this to be easy than to change the brush colour to grey to black to white!!
Honestly I thought at the start of this video that it was going to be sarcastic and you were going to throw shade, but the fact that you took the time to research, explain why he was right, and really praise him for teaching YOU something... That's different, man. You're brilliant, please never stop!
Yap he is great!
agree with this, same thoughts
love the wok here
THIS is how you tell if someone has INTEGRITY. A true teacher and mentor! Your students love you, Unmesh! Another great video tutorial.
Seriously impressed when a teacher is teachable.
Had same thoughts watching this video.
Humbleness leads to wisdom.
Absolutely right sir.
You're right Gray layer is easier to see solo secondly it's much easier to recognize gray layer from layers panel.
Two mentors at same place😍
Hi sir I am your subscriber since 1and half-year
btw I am 12 yrs old
Sir❤️❤️❤️❤️
I practice this soon
But erasing in grey is very complicated than a transparent layer.
Not realizing I was "supposed" to use a grey layer, I've always dodged and burned without it. I love the fact that you, as the instructor, are open to suggestion. A trait of true integrity.
Yes, you can dodge and burn onto the original image but this is destructive. Using a separate layer lets you erase or change what you have done more easily. You can always keep an untouched copy of the original layer and use it to replace bits that you have messed up but then the edges of that patch may be hard to match.
True that, as my son would say, lol!
I use transparent layer, then I just create a 50% layer "under" it that click on-off if ever I want to see where I painted. Best of both technique.
This was what I was thinking as he was describing the disadvantage of the transparent D&B. I'm definitely going to lose the old technique and adopt this technique instead. I love the ability to use the erase tool so swiftly to correct.
100% use of brain
@Sanjin Mujkic no, not the same. It's easier to manipulate with a transparent background and only 2 colors
exactly what i have in mind
That's actually an easy question to answer: The use of a 50% gray filled layer comes from many retouchers actually using the dodge tool for dodging and burning instead of painting with white and black. You can just set the dodge tool to midtones and paint with it to lighten and area and hold down the Alt/Option key while painting to momentarily switch to the burn tool to darken an area. That was the way non-destructive dodge & burn was done years ago. At some point someone was unhappy that lightening shadows often resulted in cooler or less saturated color tones and started painting on the gray layer instead of using the dodge tool. That person did not paint with black and white though, but with slightly tinted colors to fix tonal and color faults in one go. I personally prefer to fix color issues on a seperate layer, but yeah, that is how painting on the gray layer came into life and some younger people never knew the original method with the actual dodge tool that needed the gray to work. :)
came here to write about this and saw your comment wich I totally agree with.
I just want to add a thing. There is still people teaching and giving tutorials that are miss guiding people on how Dodge and burn tool works.
They teach to use Dodge and burn tools switching.. attention to this: between shadows and Highlights... over a 50% gray layer on soft ligth mode, in belief that they are targeting the shadows or highlights in the layer below, but It doesnt, it just affects a solid gray color in a plain way, totaly unrelated with the layer below.
Does the protect tones selection not work, as I use the tools? Also I have dodge set to mid tones at 3% and burn set to highlights at 3% does that make sense?
Sergio Garbarino, exactly
thinkingpixels great explanation, this was exactly the reason which came to my mind too 👍🏼
Ooh wow great answer!
If you want to have the cake and eat it too, just create 2 layers inside a group. The one on top is transparent and the other one below is 50% gray. Both are set to normal and the WHOLE GROUP is set to soft light / overlay. That way you can use the eraser on the transparent layer while still retaining the ability to put the group to normal and see the work you did.
I've been using a blank layer for a long time due to eraser convenience. Back in time I asked myself the same question, did basically the same tests and got the same results. You're the first RUclipsr I see questioning the reason. Congrats on your channel, you are a great instructor!
E ae Pedro! Eu nunca tinha pensado nisso ! Sempre usei curvas kkkk ... Bom ver vc por aqui nos comentarios!
If I want to add film grain to an image, I'll create a 50% gray layer and apply the film grain filter to that layer. Then I can adjust the blend mode and opacity of the layer to get the level of grain I want. But the deal is, the film grain filter does not work on a blank layer. The gray is required.
So if you want to apply a filter texture to your image using the dodge and burn principle, you'll need a gray layer.
I appreciate that Unmesh not only provides great content, this also speak very well about you, the pursue for results with a humble and more scientific approach, kudos to you!
Howdy! My experience is speaking as a production artist for animation, and in this industry one of the challenges in painting is keeping everything as consistent and as repeatable as possible -- I work as part of a team of artists, and each of our paintings needs to match up as best we can. At any time someone on my crew might need to pull a color from my PSD, or replicate an effect. For that reason I really like the gray-layer method because it does make it easier to see and fine-tune painting of those values and their middle-ranges!
Say you need to refine paintwork in the midtones around the borders of a highlight or a shadow. To get that value, you might want to use the eyedropper set to Current Layer Only on the dodge/burn layer. If that value is a mix of the highlight and transparency, and you try to color-sample one of the middle values between the brighter or darker colors, it won't work. Color+Transparency= Same color. If it's applied over a gray value however, those middle ranges ARE their own unique colors and you can eyedrop them! In this way, the gray gives you more control.
This is mostly a need for graphic design/illustration of large projects. If exact consistency across many files is important, I'd recommend gray-values. If you're working on a single photo/illustration and you can be a little freer in your workflow, can go either way :)
I agree, with Photoshop there are so many ways to achieve the same result, however on some things there has to be a industry standard and 50% grey works so stick with it.
If it's all about seeing then just make an extra 50% gray layer. Separate the gray from the dodging and burning, and maintain the freedom from the hassle of picking colors to "erase". The argument against painting on gray is because it's cumbersome after all.
Well, I think the answer is pretty simple.. Since we are dodging and burning we normally use the dedicated tools (dodge or burn tool), and if you want to work non destructively using these tools you need the gray layer instead of the transparent for their effects to appear. If you try dodging or burning on a transparent layer there is no info for the tools to work with, but in the gray layer there is. Hope this made sense :)
@Emperor Guardiola The dodge and burn tools used to avoid problems with color shifting and needed a gray layer to work, but since 2006 you have no purpose using those decade old tools over the brush tool unless it's for a quick dirty edit, as the same algorythm is used in calculating what the brush results are.
One needs a gray layer, the other one doesnt, they are exactly the same behind the scene. that change came with the "protect tones" checkmark on the updated D&B tools.
He's not using improperly the wrong tools, he's just using the up to date industry standard for high level retouching, ie : the brush.
And even using the brush as a new "standard" comes from the fact that it had an easy switch between D&B by pressing X while the old tools had not.
It's not true anymore, as you can press alt on D&B tools to do the same, but it wasnt included until a few years ago, so the pros with huge workloads migrated towards the fastest and most efficient tool at the time to do the same thing.
The only reason it still exists is that it was the way most people learned way back in the days, and that it seems simpler when you dont know how to manage your brush parameters with shortcuts.
@@sirzebra Wait, so you mean, the dodge & burn tool is the same as doing the black and white brush set on soft light? I didnt know this!
@@abbyll It used to produce artifacts, about 15 years ago, now it's the exact same. i know personally 4 high end retouching pros in Paris, 2 use B&B tools, 2 use the brush, all do the exact same work, with the same results =)
the only difference is their age, ie : when they attended school.
I learnt with the brush about 6 years ago, it was even part of a special set of classes we had about "how to do the same thing in photoshop a 100 different ways, and how to choose the right approach for the job at hand''
It's like making a white square, back before the vector tools in photoshop, you would make a square twice the size you need, apply some anti aliasing, then reduce it to fit.
Now you draw a damn vector square and that's it.
@@abbyll No, i think not. You can in the dodge burn tool adjust vor witch light it works. You can say: i only want change the highlights. Or only the Shadows. It makes many things easy.
if you wrongly use color in that layer, you can see them in normal mode
My mind is blown by the simplicity of the whole thing. Clearly not everyone can’t teach. Thank you so much.
Oddly I've always used a blank layer for those reasons! It makes so much sense for working on the fly. :D Thanks for bringing this up!
Funny thing is, there are so many ways of achieving the same thing in Photoshop! There's curves, dodge and burn tools, gray layer, etc. and we have the choice to choose what's most convenient to us.
Yes that is what you use from the your videos I have thanks Pratik
@@PiXimperfect most of us follow what pros show us but there are also simple tricks that were way more easy .
Many of us have just gotten stuck in habits, and the old school approach of using a gray layer is one of those, dating back to what others have pointed out about using the actual D&B tools on a layer directly. At some point, someone notice painting was easier to control, but we didn't bother skipping the 50% gray fill. Katrin remembers all of that, I'm sure. WAAAAY back, I tried working directly on a very low-value High Pass sharpening layer to see details more easily by switching the blending mode to normal, but that was really just pointless and an additional step. Kind of a "Stupid Photoshop Tricks" thing.
I use grey layer with 50%grey instead of using the erasertool i just alt+eye icon om the Grey layer and sample that grey and paint out/ soften an area with the brush tool fastest way for me since its my go to method
Question everything! thank you!
top layer: blank for dodge/burn
middle layer: hidden grey layer to check where you painted
bottom layer: subject
perfectly balanced, as all things should
You're awesome and humble, too. You are an outstanding Photoshop artist who has freely given his talents so others can learn. There aren't many people like that on this planet.
Consider this as another plus for using the transparent layer: You can dodge and burn using a colour other than white or black to affect highlights and shadows. Consider dodging using the hex code ffdd99 which would add a warm sunshiny highlight, particularly if you target it using luminosity masks. This is just one example of d&b using colours.
It is perfect, you read all the comments..thank you
FYI.
I am a digital artsit.
When I do 'photo retouch' like most you guys do, yes, I quite often use the blank layer.
But when I do compositing, I make doezens of D/B layers and I always use Grey on purpose.
There are 2 reasons.
1. As already mentioned in this video around 8:00, Grey makes easier for you to check the D/B layer.
2. Before doing the previous step, you have to spot thr D/B layer itself first, of course.
But it's not easy if you have doezens of them amongst hundreds of other layers in the layer panel.
Grey makes way easier for you to search those D/B layers.
If a Grey layer is cumbersome, blank layers are a nightmare.
Once again, it'd not be a problem if you use only one D/B layer snd less than 10 layers over all for photo retouching, but it's critical for people like me who makes dozens of D/B layers.
You might say 'Why don't you organized them by naming, grouping & colouring layers?'
Of course I do all of them, but still one group sometimes contains 50 layers with a dozen of D/B layers.
Grey layers stand out.
Blank layers will slow me down like hell.
Awesome answer bro💕💕💕😎
But you can use a specific color to identify your D/B layers so that you can spot them easily. I mean, it takes two secs to set the foreground color to 50% gray and then paint an empty layer to start working on, yes, but it takes one sec to make a new layer and assign it a color in the layers panel. Whatever works best for you is fine of course! Cheers
Are you on Instagram?
Your closing statement alone is worth more than any series of tutorials!!! I have seen so many false or questionable claims propagated and repeated over the years, and questions are responded with belligerent answers (evident that the person didn't have any supporting facts or ideas of his/her own) .
Your one of my favorite instructors, often giving different approaches to solving problems along with a clear understanding of why things work -- not just a re-iteration of the same meaningless set of steps that can be found on hundreds of other videos.
Why not when using the transparent layer, put a gray behind your main image making it the background layer.? This will give you a canvas to see where your edits are, as you toggle on and off your main image.
Gray Layer for Dodge & Burn is STUPID! - Part II
hahaha
same thought here, you can also make the background color into black anytime so you can see more clearer the dodge & burn :)
Another account of Andrew, isn't it?
Jonathan, had same thought and you beat me to it :)
I was thinking the same thing. If we use the transparent layer method we could drop a grey layer below it if we want to visualise it and turn it off when not needed and enjoy erase functionality. But then again its 1 extra layer.
You are indisputably the Best! You didn’t put anyone down and didn’t speak in absolutes… this is how every educator should behave
just put a grey solid color layer below the transparent one when you wanna see where your stuff is
...or set your grid color to medium or dark in preferences
Exactly, put a grey layer beneath and do your painting on a separate transparent layer. The grey layer can be set to soft light/overlay and will be invisible while the bg layer is displayed, but PS will show it as grey when the bg is hidden.
Truly a "what if we use 100% of our brains" comment
right, I thought the same, for me that even better because you can just enable/disable the layer instead of changing the blend mode... great video though
doesnt work at all : |
Thank you for your open minded and positive approach. This not only made me think about "why" but it also helped me better understand what really is thought of as a fundamental skill, but isn't. You are a true professional and a true teacher.
When I first learned about 50% gray layer dodging and burning layers (many years ago now) it was always used as a way of mitigating the possibility of overdoing the effects of the dodge and burn tools. This also avoided the issue of increasing saturation as we didn't have the protect tones option in dodge and burn either. We never painted directly on the layer with black and white paint. Painting with black or white paint directly was a separate technique used on a blank layer. I think, that, over time, people have amalgamated and confused the two techniques. This is perhaps understandable given the simplicity and controllability of painting and switching between black and white with the X key. It seems odd now, but we didn't seem to know about the alt-key trick to switch between the dodge and burn tools on the fly back then. Perhaps it wasn't invented yet?
Brilliant conclusion!!! Bravo. My opinion is next. My first Photoshop version was ...2.0 a long ago. Since then a lot of things have changed in the industry in the economy. About 10 years ago I realized that photoshop can be a Hobby and Business if you do a project for 10 minutes, it is a business. If you do the same job for 1 hour, it is a hobby. Of course, I am not talking here about Hi-End editing, when time is not (almost not) a factor. Here I think exactly the case Hobby/Business. In photoshop you can achieve same result by using a number of different techniques and none of those are a "Must Use Technique". So after this video, I definitely will use the Grey layer in my Hi-End editing projects (Some time I charge several hundred dollars per picture.). Thanks for the deep examination and "free" sharing.
Wow. This is a really good question, and your are really give answer to it all.Thanks again for your amazing videos.
Amazing UMESH a unmatched online Photoshop teachers ever seen. You defined and cleared the things very rare I've seen.
You are great and master piece of Photoshop.
Wow, this was a great class! Unmesh, you make me feel like a professional!
Thanks for your hard work.
Thanks for showing it's the same. It's a long time I'm not using 50% gray for dodging and burning. Instead I use always the transparent layer, I've even forgotten the 50% technique! I use a F10 key to create instantly a new layer in Soft light mode and I use it almost at any of my editions, usually with a soft 10% black or white brush but sometimes painting in color too with very low opacity, many times in combination with a mask for refining after. Works wonderfully and, important, is very very quick and easy to adjust
how do you explain things soo clear and simple? You can actually be a teacher, I can even imagine you being a teacher
through his videos he pretty much is a teacher
What do u mean? If he teaches here he is a teacher!
Your reason is exactly right and literally the only reason you need to have it on a grey layer. I have never used a grey layer for D&B and if it is a complex edit you can simply place any colored layer between them to see a map of what you have done. That isn't even necessary if you work in quadrants. I love how you are open to new discovery and technique. One of the amazing qualities of PS is that there are literally countless ways to get to the same result. Keep up your amazing work and I'll keep watching!!
Doesnt matter what was the actual reason , but your assumption ( to make it more visible) is quite useful and we can take it as a pro for using 50% grey ...
You are absolutely the best mentor from the internet! By far. Great noise and awesome video quality.
I learned so much and want to learn a lot more from you. Thank you so much!!
You're such a generous teacher.
I'm Stanley Lema from Africa, Cameroon. I have been following and taking most of your lessons on Photoshop on your RUclips channel. I wish to say that you're an amazing teacher any student can go for. Kudos with the outstanding job you're doing, especially for those of us who are not opportune to meet you personally.
9:16 🔴 *ANSWER: You can still use the eraser tool in a gray layer 😐. That will work, it will make the parts that you erase transparent. Transparent and gray is the same thing in a soft light layer. But, when you use use a gray layer, It will be easier to see the edits. You can also use the dodge tool and the burn tool instead of using the brush tool*
But if you erase in the gray layer then the advantage of using it is gone
@@MistaManlyGuy I think a better way would be to use the brush tool and paint with 50% gray to "erase"
Wow. You changed my life with this one. Thank you 🙏
It's an interesting technique. I use the empty layer most for highlight some parts.
The argument of the eraser tool is reasonable. But I have another reason why you should use the technique with the empty layer.
An empty layer is not as big as a grey layer. When you're working with more DB Layers (specially in High End Retouching), your file will be a lot heavier with grey layers than using empty layers. Thats a big point for me to use empty layers. And the eraser tool is a great idea.
I'm very impressed by how humble Unmesh is. Instead of acting like a "know-it-all" and ignoring the question, you took the time to do some research and address and humbly admit that the question is valid. Great job Unmesh. That's one of the reasons so many people watch your videos! Keep it up
Maybe the reason is you can apply filters on top of gray which you can't do on a transparent background. Like adding noise for example. If you add noise to the layer it won't affect the transparent parts and it will look weird. If you use noise on top a grey layer it will affect the whole picture. Also lighting changes with noise will look more natural and the banding with noise is less visible.
Good point but maybe it's a better idea to add the filter into a separated layer instead.
I like the clear layer way for one reason, it is a shortcut and saves lots of editing time!
Thanks for the heads up! I am glad you spend the time to explain these things!
Moonpie
8:11 you can easily create a new layer underneath and fill it with black so you can see the traces
That's what I usually do to. I'm such a hack. =P
So you have 2 layers instead of one?
Better yet, 50% grey underneath will let you see both dodge and burn
Yes. If you ever need to see the adjustments, this can be done.
Hello Unmesh,
thanks a lot for this very useful tip! Like almost everyone it works in GIMP (wich I use) as well. Great!!
What works for me even as well as I think it should work in Photoshop: Switch the layer-background from chessboard to grey-only and there is no problem controlling even subtile correktions - looks just as doing them on a grey layer.
btw: You explain that understandable, you are that smart - thank you for being out there!
As many others, coming from the old years of Photoshop I learned to dodge and burn using the 50% gray filler. But over the years things have changed so why techniques can't change too? I started using the transparent layer a couple years ago and never looked back at the 50% gray. Using the eraser is so convenient I would choose it over a slight colour cast issue, if there was one (there isn't). In the meantime, I changed my technique again recently, moving to 2 separate layers for dodging and burning. Dodging with white brush on its layer with Overlay blending mode, and burning on its own with Soft Light.
To me this gives me the best results. It may depend on the images and sometimes I need a quick turnaround and do it in one layer, but it works brilliantly and I have more control over my edits, which is the whole point.
Frankly, I watched this video fearing I was doing it wrong but I'm glad so far it doesn't look like it's the case... phew 😅
Cheers Unmesh
Fabien, I wonder why you use Overlay for dodging and Soft Light for burning? What is the main difference?
I've always just used Soft Light and a 50% gray layer (as most people), but after watching this video am going to start using transparent layers.
Any explanation would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
And there is nothing wrong with adding a 50% soft light layer below the transparent one and have the best of both.
@@pavinder Actually, I do understand why for White you would use Overlay and for Black you would use Soft Light. Especially when doing human portraits, one tends to brighten the skin since, for the most part, images out of camera tend make the skin a bit too dark for what looks natural to the human eye (unless you know your stuff and get proper lighting on the first go in camera). So, setting the White to Overlay helps you brighten a little more than what you actually need. On a layer above that, setting the Black to Soft Light gives you more control on areas that need to be slightly darkened without going overboard. If you set both to the same Blending Mode, you have a high likelihood of losing that control. (Although, that method may be just what you need.) However, afterwards, it would be good practice to adjust both layers' opacity until you reach the look you're aiming for.
As is the case with EVERYTHING in Photoshop, this is just one tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of techniques for achieving the same exact thing. Remember that one technique will work better (more efficiently) in one situation than another. Give everything a try until you find what works for your project.
@@GKOALA7 Thanks for explaining it so well. For some reason, RUclips did not notify me of your replies so I only saw them today because I wanted to check if there had been a new video on the matter. Apologies for the lack of replies from me so far.
I appreciate that I have added complexity to something that used to be fairly straightforward (one layer, one blending mode, just press X to switch black and white) but ultimately I have more granular control over my edit this way and I find the results more appealing to my eye.
On top of what you so well said... Even with the same blending mode I would still use 2 layers in some images, particularly complex landscapes, because there may be areas where dodging and burning are crossing or are very close to each other and I would not be able to erase one without affecting the other if they were on the same layer.
Thanks for taking the time to answer. 🙌🏻
@@pavinder Hi there. Apologies for the lack of replies: for some reason, RUclips never notified me of your questions so I only saw them today because I wanted to check if there had been a new video on the matter. The answer from @GKOALA7 is correct and it's something I have found giving me more control and more pleasing results. It adds complexity and sometimes it's not even too noticeably different from using the same blending mode but give it a try, maybe you'll like it ;)
Thanks for your comment!
Yep, I haven’t used a gray layer in years, empty layer all the way and never looked back. Thanks for explaining in detail.
love the little tests you did to debunk theories
i think transparent layers for dodging and burning would be good for quick fixes and edits but the advantages of the grey layer still allow for precision and knowing that you have actually dodged and burned where you wanted it to be.
I agree
thank you unmesh for all the tutorials you made yes I am a beginner using photoshop and i want to master it. right now I learnt a little bit because of you more power to you and god bless.from Philippines
I think you use the empty layer all the way until you have finished with D&B with all the erasing and touch-ups you need, and then merge that with a grey layer underneath and set the merged layer to the desired blending mode. That way you get the best of both worlds.
Your preparation, insight capabilities e teaching style are simply incredible. It's a pleasure to learn by you.
first of all... I'm used to the gray layer (mad an action to quick start ist) and your argument is really strong. thx 4 sharing all that stuff. :-) cheers from Switzerland
You are one of the best instructor that I know of. Thank you for all of the tutorials
My theory is that many years ago it was required for some kind of technique, maybe even Photoshop required it. Then things improved, but people got stuck to old habits.
Maybe instruments "dodge" and "burn" in old PS was worked only with filled layer.
If you idiots were observant enough you’d realise he didn’t actually use the PS dodge and burn tools. He only used the brush tool. The whole point of the gray layer is to prevent colour shifts when using the PS dodge and burn tools. The PS D&B tools are for exposure, whereas in this video he was using the brush tool, manipulating only the colour. Worst video he’s ever done.
James Wandsworth, it is industry standard the way he is doing it James. Relax.
@@jameswandsworth7306 breathe in, breathe out.
@@hullstar242 Im not so sure that it's industry standard. The one people I see painting with white and black instead of actually dodging and burning are youtube channels teaching PS. The professionals I know still actually dodge and burn using the appropriate tools.
I learnt to use the actual dodge and burn tool on the grey layer, and I have used it for a lot of fantasy paintings that requires A LOT of dodging and burning. And I was told in numerous tutorials that focused on fantasy artwork was that you could see your work in the grey layer. Also using the smudge tool can almost erase mistakes, because you smudge the grey back into the other colours. But I do believe it's so you can see your work and identify the layer easily when working with numerous layers.
I also use 50% gray for dodging and burning. Mathematics can be solved with different formulas, just like photography & post processing can be solved in different ways. But all the different paths may have some slight differences. This is user freedom only.
I also agree with you.
Great job as always. I'm a huge fan and I've learned so much with your so pedagogical videos.
I won't argue on grey or blank layer for dodge and burn. As you say each has its advantages and inconvenients.
One thing i'm sure of is that neither soft light or overlay are the better blend mode to achieve it.
Linear Light with a fill of 15/20 % gives you better control on the intensity and is more respectful on the colors.
If I could i'll sent you screen captures to show it but just try it on a color gradient, i think you'll see what i mean.
Respectfully
The answer: Abandon both of those methods and use curves, one for dodge, one for burn, with inverted layers masks. Then do your dodging and burning. The masks let you see your work and make easy adjustments by simply switching between black and white brushes, it's non-destructive, and you can independently work on the dodging and burning.
The nice thing about using gray layer is that i can change between dodge and burn by simply pressing "x".
Although two curves layers may be better in other ways, its more cumbersome to work with imo.
But maybe there is a simple shortcut i missed to switch layers....?
@@joakimolsson1024 Alt (or option if you're on a mac) brackets is the keyboard shortcut to move between layers, but that may not be much faster than just doing it with your mouse. So can't really help you there. Cumbersome...maybe, but the reason curves is better than a grey layer anyway is because a curves layer directly affects the shadows and highlights from the image, versus a grey layer which is simply painting either black or white upon the image little by little. So technically, it's a more realistic dodge and burn anyway. I've bought a few different dodge and burn tutorials from industry professionals and all of them use the curves dodge and burn approach. But whatever works for you.
I've always preferred curves...
This is what I do as well. Another good thing is you can always change the curves later if needed along with the Brush Strokes, and can easily see what you're doing to each mask.
Do you need two curves layers? What about one S curve layer for both?
Great video!
Saves a lot of tedious clicking
you can just add a black and a white layer to see those minor changes you can't see on the transparent layer.
My man andrew got some serious skills to question a master about his technique
Haha I'd say I'm closer to the ignorant child than I am to Unmesh, that's for sure!
FYI - none of the techniques which Unmesh explains are his... all of the techniques he demonstrates were created by commercial retouchers over the past 30 years.
@@eartho Probably right but have they taught something like Unmesh does ? And he never pretended he invented the powder
I'm pretty sure the only main difference between dodge & burn on 50% grey over a transparent layer is the difference in file size. Painting using black and white in the 50% grey layer results in a SMALLER file size than painting exactly the same number of pixel values in a transparent layer. Keeping working file sizes down is an important step to keeping photoshop running smoothly and quickly while working on large files (or a number of different files at the same time). I love that there are so many ways to work to achieve almost exactly the same results, and many are just down to the individual user's preference.
Have learned loads watching your vids so happy to share some knowledge. Keep up the good work man!
When a photoshop tutorial gives you life advice: question everything
I Will remember this forever
... if i question the advice i should not question everything? seems easier.
don't take it too literally, my teachers hate me for this ahahah.
For the last issue, I suppose you could include an extra layer in grey beneath the transparent layer and momentarily toggle that layer to see exactly where you have dodged/burned. Excellent comment and video!
Well, most people have already listed the reason - it’s because of the dodge and burn tool the comes with Ps. Here are the all the methods of dodging and burning as I understand:
Method 1. Using Dodge & Burn tools of Ps on 50% grey layer
Method 2: Using White and Black brush on a transparent layer in soft light/overlay (something even hard light for stronger highlights) blending mode. Advantage is both Dodge and Burning can be on a single layer.
Method 3. Using White and Black brush on a 50% grey layer in soft light/overlay (something even hard light for stronger highlights) blending mode. No discernible advantage over transparent layer method except being able to visualize the brush strokes.
Method 4: Using two separate curves (one for dodge & one for burn). My preferred method for skin retouch. Because it has most about of control and the effect can be easily dialed in separately for dodge and burn.
Method 5: Using multiple Solid Fill adjustment layers in Soft Light/Overlay/Hard Light blending mode. My preferred method for dodge and burn with color to enhance makeup/blush etc on portraits or enhancing depth both via color and light simultaneously or for selective saturation painting.
Refer “Dodge & Burn Master Class” by Greg Benz where he compares all the methods and lists advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Your method four is perhaps the most consistent method across multiple types of photo editing software as well, in terms of simplicity and manipulation.
Why two curve layers for method #4 instead of one "S" curve?
Hi! I first want to say I love your videos. I know I'm a little late to watching this one, but I think the answer to why the gray layer is so widely used, in addition to the reasons you mentioned is that because if you use the dodging and burning tool, not the brush with white or black, it doesn't work on a transparent layer. There have to be some pixels on the layer for it to affect. The gray layer comes in because we don't want to work on the original layer for non destructive purposes. I like the brush technique with transparent layer when I don't need as much control, but if I need to dodge/burn something and limit it to just the highlights or just the shadows of the original image I will use the D&B tool with the gray layer.
Hi, I am not a expert PS user but love your videos. This subject of dodging and burning is interesting and I have learned a lot here. As a novice I have always taken a simpler approach to making "quick" corrections with D&B. I create a copy layer of the entire image or section that needs adjustments such as d&b or other modifications and do my d&b on that layer usually with larger brushes than necessary but less exposure. This creates a softer edged blend to my eye. To make finer adjustments I then change the opacity of that layer to soften the overall and get a fairly natural and improved effect. This approach also allows me to "soft" erase edges, blur , sharpen etc the top layer and still have the first layer untouched and accurate. I have a lot of control of the second "fix" layer and can duplicate more layers to make other adjustments and maintain sections I like in other layers so I don't loose them. Blending the layers opacity can give nice and natural results...at least to my eye. Toggling the layers allow you to see the areas that you have worked easily. This approach may not work for professional use for many reasons but it works for my applications and is fairly simple.
I never filled the dodge layers with grey... ö_ö
both ways are correct but at the end it's up to you which one is more convenient. Love your tutorials!
Use 50% gray when using the dedicated dodge and burn tools to avoid color shifts. You use the brush tool when you D&B, so you don't get the color shifts inherent to the dedicated D&B tools in PS.
Back in the day, PS's brush tools and layer qualities weren't so refined.
Think this is the best answer today! The "back in the day" part actually made me think.
Unfortunately that means that today DnB tool is almost unnecessary if you are somewhat skilled in applying the pressure and amount with the brush manually
Yes, but I thought he showed clearly in the video that the color shift was a non issue with either technique?
@@jasonfella265 He wasn't using Dodge and Burn tool. He used brush both on the gray layer and on the normal layer. Dodge and Burn tool will color shift on normal layer
The dodge and burn tools used to avoid problems with color shifting and needed a gray layer to work, but since 2006 you have no purpose using those decade old tools over the brush tool unless it's for a quick dirty edit, as the same algorythm is used in calculating what the brush results are.
One needs a gray layer, the other one doesnt, they are exactly the same behind the scene. that change came with the "protect tones" checkmark on the updated D&B tools.
He's not using improperly the wrong tools, he's just using the up to date industry standard for high level retouching, ie : the brush.
And even using the brush as a new "standard" comes from the fact that it had an easy switch between D&B by pressing X while the old tools had not.
It's not true anymore, as you can press alt on D&B tools to do the same, but it wasnt included until a few years ago, so the pros with huge workloads migrated towards the fastest and most efficient tool at the time to do the same thing.
The only reason it still exists is that it was the way most people learned way back in the days, and that it seems simpler when you dont know how to manage your brush parameters with shortcuts.
Thanks for this clear video. I was using the grey layer method in the past but now i really think that the transparent layer is much more convenient. For the unique little drawback it's always possible to put a grey layer under the transparent layer; this grey layer can be hide when dodging and burning and unhide when we want to check the strokes involved in the correction.
I've been using photoshop for thirty years and I can remember the first time I used a grey layer for non destructive dodge and burn.
I'm pretty sure the original reason for using the grey layer was so that you could continue to use the Dodge and Burn Tools (rather than changing to a black or white brush with low opacity).
Yes, I think this has been overlooked. You cannot use the dodge and burn tool on a blank layer, nothing happens. So, instead you use a black and white brush on a blank layer and turn it to soft light. Here's the real trick though, when you use the dodge and burn tools on a 50% grey layer you change it to Linear Light, and you don't get the color shifts that come from using a Soft Light layer. Peace!
Hey, I came across your video and actually have a pretty strong answer for gray that I've experience in my workflow-
Working from 50% gray allows you to actually use the dodge and burn tools on the layer and not just black/white brush. This gives you the capability to limit stacking impacts on work already done. For example, if you add a little bit of highlight, but want to add a shadow adjacent, you can limit you burn to midtones and shadows, and it won't impact the highlights you just put in as heavily. Your range of capabilities in much greater this way when using a gray layer vs using a blank layer. Similarly, when using a blank layer, you're stacking absolute values. If you paint over a burned in shadow with white, you are taking a X% step based on flow rate towards absolute white (linear increase), while dodging the gray layer a little more dynamic, stepping away from the shadow by a percentage, midtones by a percentage, and highlights by a percentage.
If all you're doing is adding white and black to the gray layer, there's not much difference, but if you use the dodge and burn tools on the gray layer, you open up a whole set of new tools where you can limit what previous work you affect, and you get a bunch more control over what happens.
And, at the end of the day, if you're missing your eraser, just set your brush to 50% gray, and use dodge and burn for white and black, respectively. Then you're effectively using all tools, and gaining all benefits.
Hope that helps.
Great explanation
Definitely, to me the ability to see the progress of dodging and burning in the thumbnail (at least) would be the reason to do it on gray layer.
I guess that's true for this method, but if you are using the curves adjustment layer method, you can see via a mask where your adjustments are made. I personally use a separate layer for dodging and burning. Then I can adjust the opacity of each layer.
Why not just put a gray layer behind it and still be able to use all the easier tools?
Gamechanger!
Have been teached this 25 years ago ....
1. Works fine, even when duplicating the layer to make it extreme
2. If I want to see the d+b, just but a grey layer below ;)
3. Erasing is the key, I personally just turn the pencil (Wacom)
Thank you.
why not just make a grey layer under everything, so you can use the eraser and also if you turn it on the dodge/burn is visible?
Hi. I love your channel, I learn a lot from your videos.
The reason for the layer with 50% gray is because the dodge & burn technique was usually done with the dodge tools and burn tools overexposing and underexposing on the gray layer. impossible to do in a transparent layer.
Thanks for your videos and sympathy.
Greetings from Spain.
50% gray layer has left the conversation
🤣🤣🤣
I am convinced we don't need to create a 50% grey layer. Amazing. However you suggest one problem--can't see see the dodging and burning on the empty layer. Easy solution. Double click on the layer to open the properties, click the box for Color Overlay and pick a nice bright color. Voila. You can see what you did in that color on the image. If I showed you something that you didn't already know I will have to admit I've come along way. You are truly the master.
Legend has it that he is also a legend on the piano. One day folks, one day.
Hi, What I do is apply a 'Color Overlay' Layer effect (choose a bright obvious color) to the invisible layer. Then you can just click the eye icon to make it visible when you need to see where you've dodged or burned... works well.
"No matter where you dab, it's gonna be the dab, the same dab"
My reason to use the 50% gray is that I also use for example noise and emboss techniques to add pore structures. And that doesn't work on an empty layer.
For just "painting with light" it's a cool alternative.
I would recommend another method to make the dodging and burning visible:
Instead of painting on grey, paint black and white on a transparent layer so you can use the eraser, but have a grey layer directly underneath the dodge/burn layer. Set that grey layer to invisible while painting. If you want to see where your retouches are located, just turn the visibility on to check. That is easier to do than changing the blend mode of your dodge layer to check. So now you have the best of both worlds.
The one downside to this is that your layer stack will become very long if you use a great number of dodge and burn layers, but if that isn't the way you work you should be fine.
if you had watched the vid, that's exactly what he did and explained why...
@@eartho Had you read CaptainFutureman's comment properly, you'd have known he said something else entirely. He was saying that if you want to check your dodges and burns within a transparent layer, just use a grey layer underneath it that you turn off when painting.
This tut is exactly why I recommend fellow artist to watch your videos. Nothing is taken for granted, everything is explained VERY well and on top it is free for everybody. I learnt so much from your tutorials, thanks a lot..... and keep creating ;D
Love watching your channel. I would think that the gray layer came into play back when most everyone was using the dodge and burn tool. Over time people started using the brush tool and kept the same workflow. What do you think?
I believe this is right. 👍
I use the gray layer because I like to see what I do easily, and if I make a mistake and want to fix it, I take with the dropper (alt) a sample of the gray layer that I have not modified and paint with that gray at 50%, like that I correct the error ... I still think that the blank layer is a good option ...
Unmesh I follow your videos and I think without hesitation that you are a genius and I thank you with the generosity that you share your knowledge !! Regards
5:44
Hank Hill: "Imma bout ta bust."
Even the issue of not seeing the changes easily on the transparent layer can be fixed to get the best of both worlds. Create a transparent layer on top of a grey layer and group them. Then set the blend mode of the group to overlay/soft light. Now you can do your dodge and burn on the transparent layer. If you want to see changes and erase them just change the blend mode of the group back to normal. Nice video!
I've been doing it on a blank layer for years because it just worked. I just figured that I was wrong but it got me to my result. win/win?
But now you know you're not wrong! Super retro win!
Well done Unmesh , I really appreicate how you encouage to be open minded to question everything..... as a professional designer the tips and tricks to maneuver through photoshop is really about repetition and how to get from one point to another. The fun is discovering a different path.... There's no right or wrong. ☮
Think about it this way... You can't erase what you can't see!
Also if you can't see it, why do you need to erase it? Teehee
You've heard this before, and you're about to hear it again: You rock harder than Gibraltar. Seriously. You're an exceptional instructor. For an instructor to have the fluency of information in what they teach is a given (we hope). Your innate ability to teach that information as clearly, anticipatory, and enjoyable?...It's a gift. Thank you for sharing it.
I am scrolling to see Andrew reply at this moment
😀 Thank you very much Unmesh, definitely, everything I learn on your channel I put into practice and then I look for other ways to do the same. I think the saying "all roads lead to Rome" applies very well here. I have always thought and verified that throughout Adobe there are always many ways to do the same, with fewer or more clicks, with commands, without commands, etc.
I think Cristian's point is very valid 👏, I also thank him for exposing one more way to do it. I have seen people who do it with 50% gray layer + tools on expose or sub-expose and use the gray to erase, having control over ranges of tones (lights, shadows and media) in "range", I also find it interesting, but what I see a bit more complicated. I think the issue here is, what process do we feel most comfortable with? I said at the beginning that everything I learn on your channel I put into practice, but not everything I apply to my workflow hahaha, the matter is that. Thanks again, greetings from El Salvador, CA. 🇸🇻
Grey layer: “Am I a joke to you?”
Douchy McDouche man that cracked me up 🤣
😂😂😂😂
I'm dead. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Why isn't this comment the most liked comment on this video? 😂
Young people doesn't understand anything gray, and frankly, i am quite tired of that.
Great quick topic to address Unmesh! I never thought about that. Thanks for taking the time to compare them.
Here is my thought. When you get to the end and mention a possible reason to continue with gray for visibility, you could easily add a solid color layer below the D&B Soft Light layer and turn off it's visibility. This would allow you to use the transparent version and gain the benefit of the eraser tool, and if you need to see what you have done just toggle the visibility of underlying solid color layer. That way you have the best of both.
Hi Unmesh, can you make a tutorial for removing complex brackground. Im having a hard time to edit pics with complex background. if your curious about the pic I can email it to you :) looking forward for your reply :)
He already has a lot of tutorials on that topic. He actually covered practically every single thing in Photoshop.
after going through the video more - an alternative you could use would be to set a D&B action to create a 50% gray softlight and a transparent working layer above it. That would allow you to have the visibility and eraser functionality with no addditional effort.