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Blend mode

Blend modes are used to control the way different layers in an image interact, and they apply not just to other image layers but also non-destructive adjustment layers.

If you set a layer's blend mode to 'Normal' it will simply cover up the layer underneath – or, in the case of an adjustment layer, it will apply the adjustment layer 'straight'.

'Multiply' mode is different, multiplying the effects of the pixels in the top layer with those underneath to produce a darker image that's a combination of both.

Or there are two 'contrast' blend modes – 'Soft Light' and 'Overlay' – which darken or lighten the layer underneath, depending on whether the pixels in the top layer are darker or lighter than 50% grey. These blend modes have the effect of increasing overall contrast.

There are many more blend modes, but these are arguably the most useful for photographers.

How to add a new sky to a landscape without selections

August 25, 2017 by Rod Lawton

How to add a new sky to a landscape

Very often in landscape photography you get the landscape or the lighting you want, but not the sky. In the perfect world you’d keep going back again and again until everything was perfect. In our not-so-perfect-world, however, it’s sometimes useful to be able to add a new sky later, as the final touch to an […]

Filed Under: UncategorizedTagged With: Blend modes, Layers, Masks

How to use Elements blend modes to boost your colours with black and white!

November 9, 2013 by Rod Lawton

Elements blend modes

I’ve discovered what I think is a really neat way of producing richer, deeper colours by turning your picture into black and white… well, sort of. If you’ve got an image which needs more contrast, the usual method is to use curves adjustments. But contrast and saturation are linked, so you get more saturated colours […]

Filed Under: TutorialsTagged With: Blend modes

How to boost contrast in Photoshop Elements with overlay mode

September 7, 2013 by Rod Lawton

Overlay mode in Elements

Photoshop Elements does not have the curves feature found in Photoshop itself and many other image-editing programs, and many people cite this as one of its limitations. I don’t really agree. There’s always more than one way to do anything, including modifying the contrast, and I find this ‘overlay’ method so quick and useful I […]

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Filed Under: TutorialsTagged With: Blend modes, Contrast

Try this five-second fix with a gradient and color burn blend mode in Elements

August 31, 2013 by Rod Lawton

Photoshop Elements Gradient tool Color Burn blend mode

You can’t always choose the lighting you shoot in, and sometimes it’s just so flat that your pictures don’t have any depth or intensity. It doesn’t help that most digital cameras lean slightly towards overexposure in these conditions too. That’s why I wanted to have a go at ‘relighting’ some shots I took in Paris […]

Filed Under: TutorialsTagged With: Blend modes

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