How to burn and dodge a photographic print

Dodging
To decrease the density (lighten) a specific area of a print by giving it less exposure. Dodging is done during the main exposure and is usually used to brighten specific areas of an image, including shadow areas, to reveal more description and detail. Using a dodging tool, the technique is useful over a range of approximately 5% to 15% of the main exposure.

Burning
To increase the density (darken) a specific area of a print by giving it additional exposure. Burning is done after the main exposure and is usually used to darken specific areas of an image, including highlight areas. Using a burning tool, the technique is useful over a range of approximately 20% to 400% of the main exposure.

Filters
Even a correctly exposed and processed print may not have a full range of tones. If your print looks too grey, and lacks either solid black shadows or clean white highlights (or both) you can reprint using a # 3 filter or higher. Use a #1 filter if there is too much contrast, and your print is dominated by extreme black and white tones.