How to Burn-in A Portion of A Photograph

Burning an image is the process of giving extra exposure to areas of a print that you want to make darker using an enlarger. This is accomplished by first giving the print normal exposure, then expose the picture again while placing an opaque object between the enlarger and the photographic paper in such a way as to allow light to fall only on the portion of the scene to be darkened. You can use this technique to fix pictures that have unsightly pale areas, effectively darkening these spots on the photo.

Things You'll Need

• Darkroom
• Photo Enlarger
• Negative(s) you want to correct
• Poster board

Instructions

1. 

   Place your negative into the enlarger's negative carrier, and set your exposure time.

2. 

   Lay your piece of photographic paper under the enlarger and expose the print. Do not remove the paper from its spot under the enlarger.

3. 

   Cut a piece out of the poster board that will best cover the areas you do not want to be any darker.

4. Then either hold it above the photo or lay it on top of the paper leaving only the areas you want darkened uncovered.

5. 

   Expose the print again. The light should only be shining on the part of the photograph that needs to be darkened.

6. 

   Take your paper out from under the enlarger and develop.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also cut the piece of poster board into a specific shape that only covers the areas you do not want to make darker, instead of using a less accurate square shape to cover these spots.