Dodge and burn tutorial with soft light layer in photoshop

Dodge and burn tutorial with soft light layer in photoshop.
While you can use the dodge and burn tools, using a soft light layer gives you more control and is a less ‘destructive’ approach.
Open the image you wish to darken / lighten locally and make a new layer by clicking the new layer icon, or going to the menu ‘ Layer –> new –> layer ‘

With the new layer selected, go to the menu EDIT –> fill, and choose ’50 percent gray’



With your new layer all gray, change the blending mode from normal to ‘soft light’

Now select your brush, make the edges a bit soft and watch the opacity, and make sure your front and back colors are set to white and black or vice-versa

With the WHITE color selected as front color, you will lighten the pixels.
With the BLACK color selected, you will darken the pixels.
Play around creating contrasts and points of interest.