Burning and Dodging

Burning and dodging are the printer's core tools for local control—manipulating specific areas of a print without affecting the rest. Master printers spend more time burning and dodging than finding the base exposure.

This guide covers techniques, tools, and the craft of selective print manipulation.

What Is Burning and Dodging?

Dodging: Holding Back Light

Dodging means blocking light from reaching part of the paper during the main exposure. The blocked area receives less light and prints lighter.

Use dodging to:

• Open up shadows that would otherwise block
• Lighten a face against a dark background
• Bring out detail in underexposed areas of the negative
• Draw attention to a subject by lightening it

Burning: Adding Light

Burning means giving additional exposure to part of the paper after the main exposure. The burned area receives more light and prints darker.

Use burning to:

• Hold detail in bright skies
• Darken distracting bright areas
• Tone down edges and corners that draw the eye
• Add richness to highlights that would otherwise wash out

Why Manipulate Prints?

Compensating for Scene Contrast

Many scenes have a brightness range that exceeds what paper can hold. Burning bright areas and dodging dark areas compresses the range to fit, preserving detail throughout.

Directing the Viewer's Eye

The eye is drawn to bright areas. By burning down distracting elements and dodging the subject, you guide the viewer to what matters.

Correcting Exposure Errors

A face in shadow, a blown sky, a dark corner—local adjustments can rescue negatives that aren't perfect.

Realising Your Vision

The negative records what was there. Burning and dodging let you interpret that record, emphasising what you felt and downplaying what you didn't.

Ansel Adams famously said: "The negative is the score, the print is the performance."

Dodging Techniques

Dodging Tools

You need something to block light without being visible in the final print.

Wire and card/circle: The classic dodge is a small cardboard shape (oval, circle, or custom-cut) attached to a thin wire. The wire casts such a thin shadow that it doesn't print; the card blocks light from the area you're lightening.

Purchased dodging tools: Sets of different-shaped dodgers on wires are available. The shapes rarely match your needs exactly, but they're a starting point.

Your hand: The most flexible dodging tool. Position fingers to cover the area. Works well for larger regions.

Custom-cut cards: For complex shapes (a face, a building), cut cardboard to match the shape on your easel.

The Critical Rule: Keep Moving

Never hold a dodging tool still.

A stationary dodge creates an obvious lightened area with hard edges. Continuous small movements blend the effect into the surrounding tones.

Movement patterns:

• Small circles or ovals
• Side-to-side within the area
• Up-and-down within the area
• Varying height (closer to lens = larger shadow, further = smaller)

The movement should be smooth and continuous throughout the dodging duration.

Height Controls Size

Higher (closer to lens): Larger, softer-edged shadow Lower (closer to paper): Smaller, sharper-edged shadow

For a soft, gradual lightening, dodge higher. For more precise control of a small area, dodge lower—but you'll need to move more carefully to avoid hard edges.

Feathering Edges

The transition between dodged and undodged areas must be invisible. Techniques for feathering:

• Continuous movement (most important)
• Vary height during the dodge
• Overlap slightly into surrounding areas
• Use soft materials (cotton gloves, soft paper) if needed for very soft edges

Timing Dodges

Dodging happens during the main exposure. You must calculate how much time to hold back.

Example:

• Base exposure: 20 seconds
• Area needs to be 1 stop lighter: dodge for 10 seconds (half the exposure)
• Area needs to be ½ stop lighter: dodge for ~6 seconds (about 30%)

Practical approach:

• Start with 20-30% of the base exposure
• Evaluate and adjust

Burning Techniques

Burning Tools

Burning requires an opaque mask with a hole that allows light through to the area being burned.

Cardboard with hole: The classic burn card is stiff black card with a hole cut in it. Size and shape of the hole controls what gets burned.

• Small hole = precise burning
• Large hole = broader burning
• Custom-shaped hole = matches specific image areas

Your hands: Cup hands together, leaving a gap between palms. Vary the gap size to control the burned area. Very flexible.

Multiple cards: Two pieces of card brought together create an adjustable slit for burning straight edges (horizons, building edges).

Keep Moving

Just like dodging, burning tools must keep moving. A stationary burn creates an obvious dark spot.

Movement patterns:

• Small circles within the burned area
• Following the shape of the area
• Varying the hole position slightly

Edge Burning

Prints often benefit from slightly darkened edges and corners—the eye naturally stays within the frame.

Technique: After the main exposure, burn each edge with a straight card, moving along the edge. 10-20% additional exposure is usually sufficient.

Corner burning: Corners often need more burning than edges. Use a card angled to burn diagonally into the corner.

Sky Burning

Bright skies are the most common burning challenge.

Technique:

Graduated burning: For a natural sky gradation, angle the card and move it slowly during the burn—areas closer to the card edge receive less additional exposure.

Hard vs Soft Edges

Hard edge burns: Where there's a clear boundary (horizon against sky, edge of a building), you can burn with less movement along that edge.

Soft edge burns: Where tones blend (clouds, skin, gradual shadows), you need extensive movement and higher card position for invisible transitions.

Planning Your Manipulation

Reading the Work Print

Before burning and dodging, analyse your straight work print:

1. What's too dark? → Mark for dodging
2. What's too light? → Mark for burning
3. What's distracting? → Mark for burning (darken to reduce attention)
4. What's hidden? → Mark for dodging (lighten to reveal)

Making a Burn/Dodge Map

For complex prints, sketch a map:

• Draw the image layout simply
• Mark dodge areas with "D" and estimated time (D -5)
• Mark burn areas with "B" and estimated time (B +10)
• Note edge burns

This becomes your recipe for repeating the print.

Order of Operations

Standard sequence:

1. Main exposure
2. Dodging during main exposure (simultaneous)
3. Burning after main exposure (sequential)
4. Edge burning last

For complex dodges: Some printers do multiple main exposures with different dodges, rather than trying to dodge multiple areas simultaneously.

Recording for Repeatability

A good print may take an hour of testing. Record everything so you can reproduce it.

What to Record

• Negative identification (roll and frame number)
• Paper (type, contrast grade)
• Enlarger settings (head height, aperture)
• Base exposure time
• Each dodge: area, time, tool used
• Each burn: area, time, tool/hole used
• Edge burns
• Development details if non-standard

Notation Systems

Develop your own shorthand. Example:

Neg: 2024-15/23
Paper: MGRC Pearl, Grade 2.5
Base: 18s @ f/8

Dodge:
- Face: 5s, wire oval
- Shadow under tree: 4s, hand

Burn:
- Sky: +12s, card along horizon
- Corner BL: +4s
- Corner BR: +4s
- Edge top: +3s sweep

Notes: Sky burn needed soft edge movement.

Work Print Notation

Some printers mark directly on work prints with grease pencil:

• Circle areas to burn, write time
• Squiggle over areas to dodge, write time

Keep work prints as a record alongside written notes.

Advanced Techniques

The techniques below are for more experienced printers. Master the basics first—once you're comfortable with simple dodges and burns, these methods offer greater creative control.

Split-Grade Burning

Burn with a different contrast filter than the base exposure.

Use high contrast (magenta) burning to:

• Add punch to a flat sky
• Deepen blacks in a burned area
• Increase local contrast

Use low contrast (yellow) burning to:

• Add density without increasing contrast
• Burn bright areas while maintaining highlight separation

This gives you control over both density and contrast in burned areas.

Local Contrast Control

Dodging and burning can flatten local contrast. To maintain or enhance it:

• Use shorter, more precise dodges
• Split-grade burn to add contrast back
• Consider whether the area needs any manipulation

Flashing (Pre-Exposure)

Flashing gives the paper a brief, uniform low exposure before the main exposure. This lowers overall contrast and can help hold difficult highlight detail.

Technique:

1. Remove negative, defocus enlarger completely
2. Give paper 10-20% of normal exposure (test to find your paper's threshold)
3. Replace negative, refocus, make main exposure

Flashing is subtle—it affects contrast throughout the print, not just specific areas.

Print Masking

For very challenging negatives, some printers make physical masks from lith film or paper to block or pass light to specific areas. This is advanced territory requiring precise registration.

Common Mistakes

Obvious Halos

Problem: Lighter or darker rings around dodged/burned areas Cause: Stationary tools, tools too close to paper, insufficient movement Fix: Keep moving, raise tools higher, reduce manipulation time

Over-Manipulation

Problem: Print looks processed, artificial Cause: Too much burning and dodging, or areas manipulated that didn't need it Fix: Use restraint. Ask whether each manipulation truly improves the image.

Inconsistent Prints

Problem: Can't reproduce results Cause: Poor record-keeping, inconsistent technique Fix: Record everything, develop consistent movements

Hard Edge Burns

Problem: Visible line where burn begins Cause: Insufficient movement along edge Fix: More movement, higher card position, graduated burning technique

Muddy Midtones

Problem: Burning flattens areas that should have depth Cause: Burning too much, or burning with wrong contrast Fix: Reduce burn time, try split-grade burning with higher contrast

Tools You'll Need

Practical Exercise

Choose a negative with a bright sky and a subject that needs to stand out.

Summary

• Dodging holds back light to lighten areas; burning adds light to darken areas
• Keep tools moving constantly—the most important rule
• Height controls size: higher = larger, softer; lower = smaller, sharper
• Plan your manipulation by reading the work print carefully
• Record everything for repeatability
• Use restraint—manipulation should be invisible in the final print
• Split-grade burning adds contrast control to local adjustments

Burning and dodging separate technically correct prints from expressive prints. The techniques are simple; the artistry is in seeing what each image needs and applying just enough manipulation to realise your vision.