Smart Dodge & Burn Photoshop Actions
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Add to
favorites
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Software
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CompatibilityPhotoshop CS6 & Newer
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Photoshop actions23 Dodge & Burn Tools
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To practice on5 Sample Images
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In the downloadPDF Guide & Action List
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Every actionMasks Ready to Paint
Photoshop Action Downloads
Install Guide
How to Install Your Actions
A short PDF that shows three ways to install this action in Photoshop, how to play it on your photo, and three tips for better results.
DESCRIPTION
Pro-level dodging and burning in a few clicks. Each action makes a Curves or Levels layer with a black mask, already limited to the shadows, mid-tones or highlights and set to Luminosity, and picks the brush for you: just paint white where you want light or shadow.
Start with Dodge & Burn Setup or a single 50% Gray Layer, then pick a tone range (Shadows, Mid-Tones or Highlights) or a Darken or Lighten step in quarter-stop increments. Every action ends with the Brush ready, so you just paint.
Tested in Photoshop 2026 and built from steps that work in Photoshop CS6 and newer, with 5 sample images to practice on and a PDF guide in the download.
PHLEARN PRO · Photoshop Actions
Smart Dodge & Burn Photoshop Actions
23 dodge & burn tools5 sample imagesPDF guidePhotoshop 2026
Smart Dodge & Burn Photoshop Actions
Target Highlights, Mid-Tones & Shadows
Brighten or darken the shadows, mid-tones or highlights to sculpt faces, shape landscapes and add depth to any photo.
More Depth in a Landscape
Painted with Dodge & Burn Setup, the tops of the rocks get brighter and the gaps between them darker. The stones gain shape and texture, and the stormy sky keeps its tone, giving the shore more depth. Every action works in Luminosity mode, so the rocks get lighter and darker without any shift in color.
What Dodge & Burn Does
Dodging brightens and burning darkens. Brighten the surfaces that face the light and darken the gaps, and texture turns into shape. The Setup action gives you a Dodge and a Burn layer in one group, both masked and ready. Paint white on Dodge to lighten and white on Burn to darken, using a soft brush at 10–20% opacity. If a stroke goes too far, press X to switch to black and paint over it to take it back.
Best On
Rocky shores, mountains, architecture and any landscape that looks flat.
Shape on a Sunset Portrait
Light is painted along her face, arms and legs, and the sand and sea around her go a touch deeper. The surfer separates from the beach, and her body gets a gentle, sculpted look without a color shift. The strength stays easy to change afterwards: lower the layer opacity, or double-click the Curves thumbnail and move the curve.
Sculpt With Light
On a portrait, light along the face, arms and legs, with slightly deeper shadows around them, gives the body a three-dimensional look. Follow the direction the sun comes from, and build it up with a soft brush at 10–20%. Lighten where light already falls and darken where shadows already are, so the shape looks natural rather than painted. For more control, run Dodge & Burn Setup once per area, such as skin and background, and rename the groups.
Best On
Full-length portraits, fitness and fashion photos, and backlit shots that need shape.
Lifting Faces in Low Light
The three faces around the fairy lights get a little brighter and the glow in her hands more defined, while the darker edges stay moody, so the eye goes straight to the faces. Each smart tone action adds its own layer with a black mask, so the change appears only where you paint white, and only inside that action’s tone range.
Guide the Eye in Low Light
In a dark photo the eye goes to the brightest faces first. The Shadows and Mid-Tones Lighter actions lift faces without touching the highlights, and Shadows Darker deepens the edges without crushing them. If the lights themselves look too bright, Highlights Darker tames them without muddying the shadows. Build each layer up with a 10% brush and many strokes, then lower the layer opacity if a face looks lifted too far.
Best On
Night portraits, group photos, candlelit and fairy-light scenes.
What’s in the Download
One action set, 23 dodge & burn tools
Unzip it and load the set in the Actions panel. Every action ends with the Brush ready: paint white where you want the change.
- ATNPHLEARN Smart Dodge & Burn 2026.atn1 action set with all 23 actions
- JPG5 Sample ImagesPractice photos
- PDFPHLEARN Smart Dodge & Burn – Guide (2026).pdfInstall steps, every action explained, fixes
- Dodge & Burn Setup
- 50% Gray Layer
- Shadows Darker
- Shadows Lighter
- Mid-Tones Darker
- Mid-Tones Lighter
- Highlights Darker
- Highlights Lighter
- Darken -0.25
- Darken -0.50
- Darken -0.75
- Darken -1.00
- Darken -1.25
- Darken -1.50
- Darken -1.75
- Lighten +0.25
- Lighten +0.50
- Lighten +0.75
- Lighten +1.00
- Lighten +1.25
- Lighten +1.50
- Lighten +1.75
- Lighten +2.00
The 5 sample images
Photoshop Action Questions, Answered
What’s included in the Smart Dodge & Burn Photoshop Actions?
The download includes 23 Photoshop actions in one set: Dodge & Burn Setup and 50% Gray Layer; six tone actions (Shadows, Mid-Tones and Highlights, each Darker and Lighter); and a strength ladder from Darken -0.25 to -1.75 and Lighten +0.25 to +2.00. You also get 5 sample images and a PDF guide with install steps and every action explained.
What kind of photos is Smart Dodge & Burn made for?
Portraits, landscapes and everything in between. Dodging and burning sculpts the highlights and shadows to add contrast and definition, so it helps images that feel a little flat. You can use it on small areas like eyes, lips and skin to even out exposure, or to guide the viewer’s eye to what matters most.
How do the six Smart Dodge & Burn actions work together?
Each tone action makes a Curves layer that only affects one range (shadows, mid-tones or highlights), in Luminosity so colors don’t shift, with a black mask and the brush ready. Paint white where you want it, at a low opacity. Combine them to even out exposure, deepen edges and add shape.
Are Photoshop Actions included in my PHLEARN PRO subscription?
Yes. A PHLEARN PRO membership includes every Photoshop Action pack, plus PRO Tutorials, Lightroom Presets, LUTs and Photoshop Brushes.
What version of Photoshop do I need?
These actions work in Photoshop CS6 and newer, on Mac and Windows. We recommend the latest version. Photoshop on the iPad and on the web cannot run actions.
How do I install Photoshop Actions?
Unzip the download, open Photoshop, then double-click the .ATN file. Photoshop shows no confirmation, but the set is now at the bottom of the Actions panel. The PDF guide in your download shows every install method and explains each action, and there is more help on our Photoshop Actions install guide.
Where do the actions show up after I install them?
At the bottom of the Actions panel, as a set named after the pack. Open the panel with Window > Actions, or press Option + F9 on a Mac or Alt + F9 on Windows.
Photoshop says “Command not currently available.” What do I do?
The photo is in a mode Photoshop can’t add these layers to: Indexed Color, Bitmap, Multichannel or 32-bit. Set Image > Mode to RGB Color and 8 or 16 Bits/Channel, and if Quick Mask is on, press Q to turn it off. Then play the action again. The rebuilt 2026 actions work with any layer selected and in CMYK, Lab and Grayscale photos too.
The action stopped and showed a message. Is something wrong?
The 2026 actions don’t stop with messages any more: each one builds its layers in one go, and the layer and group names tell you what to do next. A few actions open a Photoshop window on purpose (Choose Direction, Custom, Choose Blur and the movable vignettes) so you can set the effect yourself; click OK when you’re done.
How do I undo an action?
Open the History panel (Window > History) and click the state from before the action ran. You can also hide or delete the group the action built in the Layers panel.
Do you offer refunds?
Because these are downloadable products, all sales are final and we are not able to offer refunds.
Terms of Use
These Actions are licensed for personal and professional use by the individual who purchased or downloaded them. The license does not extend to companies or partnerships, and the files may not be resold, loaned, gifted, shared, copied or redistributed. All PHLEARN Actions are copyright protected.
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