Board_Advisors_etc 3..5

print where the edges of the shadow fall. The thin
wire handle allows the photographer to dodge any-
where on the image—even in the center—without
creating a thick shadow that falls to the edge and
obstructs more of the image than the photographer
intends. The dodging tool can be held closer to the
light, which will create a bigger shadow, or closer to
the easel, which will create a smaller shadow, depend-
ing on the photographer’s needs. Dodging tools can
be created specific to each print, but a few dodging
tools with various-sized pieces of board will generally
suffice for any dodging needs.
Dodging is often done to increase the amount of
detail seen in dark or shadowed areas of a print or to
reduce the darkness of an area of the print. Too
much dodging, however, can make an area too
light, too grey, or murky. In black and white print-
ing, over-dodging turns black into grey, which can
decrease the contrast and make the overall print less
appealing. Dodging requires practice, and the dod-
ging time is different with each print.
Once a photographer has decided that an area in
a print needs to be dodged, he places an unexposed
piece of photographic paper into the easel and
exposes the negative again, this time using his
dodging tool to block the light in the area that
needs dodging for a portion of the overall expo-
sure time. The print is then developed as usual.
Dodging often takes more than one try to figure
out exactly what portion of the overall exposure
time needs to be reduced from the dodged area.
One way to make the trial-and-error of dodging
easier is to make a test strip only in the area that
needs to be dodged, making educated guesses as to
what the exposure time in that area would be
based on the overall exposure time. If, for
instance, a photographer figures out that while
his overall exposure time is 16 seconds, the area
in question only needs to be exposed for 12 sec-
onds, the photographer would then set his timer
for 16 seconds and then simply use a dodging tool
to cover the area for four of those seconds. Dod-
ging can be done at the beginning, the end, or in
themiddleoftheexposuretime.
The technique of dodging can be used for dark-
room effects other than simply fine-tuning a print. If
a photographer is double-printing, or blending two
negatives into one print, he might use dodging tech-

niques to lighten an area on one negative so that the

information on the second negative will show

through in that area. Or, if a photographer is print-

ing half of one negative and half of another on the

same print, he might use his hand to shade half of

the image and create a soft, light border where the

other image will overlap. Dodging can also be used

to create haloes, if, for instance, the photographer

dodges a thin outline and then feathers it outward

from a subject in the image.

In most digital image manipulation software, there

is a variable-sized dodging tool that can be moved

across the image to a similar effect as the dodging

tool used in the darkroom. The digital dodging tool

will lighten parts of the image, but often results in

quickly de-saturating or ‘‘washing out’’ the color in

those areas. Even in black and white digital images,

the dodging tool often results in turning areas a dull

grey. Like its use in the darkroom, the digital dod-

ging tool should be used limitedly, and in small areas.

Generally, the photographer intends that the

dodged area blend in with the rest of the image—

it is for this reason that it is so important to have

continuous movement with the dodging tool, so

that a line does not appear at the edge of the

shadow. Dodging can be a very useful technique

to decrease harsh shadows and increase the amount

of information that translates from the negative to

the print in dark areas. Dodging is also useful when

working with thin or uneven negatives to even out

tones in the final print.

JennyAllredRedmann

Seealso:Burning-In; Darkroom; Enlarger; Exposure;

Manipulation; Multiple Exposures and Printing

Further Reading

Horder, Alan, ed.The Manual of Photography. New York:

Chilton Book Co. (Focal Press Ltd.), 1971.

International Center for Photography: Encyclopedia of

Photography. New York: Pound Press (Crown Publish-

ers Inc.), 1984.

McDarrah, Gloria S., Fred W. McDarrah, and Timothy S.

McDarrah.The Photography Encyclopedia. New York:

Schirmer Books, 1999.

Swedland, Charles.Photography: A Handbook of History,

Materials, and Processes. Atlanta: Holt, Rinehard and

Winston, Inc., 1974.

DODGING