Blending Options - DEFINED!!

By popular demand, today we will be focusing on DEFINING the Blending Modes as best we can... what they do to photos on top of photos, photos on top of paper, and paper on top of paper. We will go down the list and define them one by one and look at the different effects they have on different scenarios. I had to pull out my Photoshop A-Z Book again for this one... and even *I* learned a few things! LOVE when that happens!!!

So... here we go. We will take each blending mode and show what it will do to this photo on top of itself, this photo on top of the gray paper, and the gray paper on top of the patterned paper. If you want to really get the feel of the way these work, open a photo and a couple of sheets of paper and follow along!

NORMAL

The pixels in the top layer are opaque and therefore block the view of the bottom layer. Adjusting the opacity of the top layer will it semi-transparent causing it to blend with the bottom layer.

This is obviously... well... normal. :) No formal explanation needed here.

DISSOLVE

Combines the top layer with the bottom using a pattern of pixels. There is no effect if the top layer is at 100% opacity. Reduce the opacity to see the effect. Example set to 80%.

I rarely... (if not, never) use this one. As you can see, it doesn't really do anything great for photos or papers. I'm thinking it is probably a great tool for web design though. But for something that I plan on printing... hmmm... not really the look I'm going for. :) I'm sure I'll find a use for it someday. hehe.

DARKEN

Compares the color of the top and bottom layers and blends the pixels where the top layer is darker than the bottom.

I usually use this one in addition to other blend modes. I'm not really excited about what it does by itself to photos, but as you can see in this example... it can do some cool stuff to papers sometimes!

MULTIPLY

Multiplies the color of the bottom layer with the top layer producing an overall darker result. There is no image change when the top layer is white.

For some reason, I just love this blending mode. It's one of my favorties. I find myself using it even when I think I won't. hahaha. It's a GREAT base layer to work with when getting effects on your photos... it's darkens it all, so when you come back and put a screen or a color dodge on it... wow... the effects are really cool... and sometimes reallllly dreamy!




COLOR BURN

Darkens or 'burns' the image using the contents of teh top layer. There is no image change if the top layer is white.

This is a great one too! Can do some cool things to photos, but I think even more so with papers. It can be waaaaay to dark and harsh on the wrong photo, but get the right photo and it can do WONDERS... especially with a SCREEN layer underneath!

LINEAR BURN

Uses the same approach as the Color Burn mode but porduces a stronger darening effect. Again, there is no image change when the top layer is white.

Ditto what I said about Color Burn. ;)

LIGHTEN

Compares the color in the top and bottom layers and blends the pixels if the top layer is lighter than the bottom.

Just like Darken... it doesn't do anything great to photos, but can be used with other blend modes and does really cool stuff to papers.

SCREEN

The opposite to the Multiply mode as it multiplies the inverse of the top layer with the bottom layer producing a much lighter image.

This is a good one. I use it a lot. Usually... I will take my original photo, duplicate it as SCREEN once or twice... then duplicate it again as Overlay or Hard Light... it gives a fabulous contrast to the photo and just gives it a more modern and edgy feel.

COLOR DODGE

Makes the picture lighter using the top layer to dodge (lighten) the bottom layer. There is no effect if the top layer is black.

This is a good one too. It can be used over a MULTIPLY or COLOR BURN layer to give it some harshness. Playing with the opacity on this one is almost always key. It doesn't usually do anything great for papers, though. It makes them a bit too harsh in my opinion.

LINEAR DODGE

Similar to the Screen mode but produces a much stronger lighteing effect. There is no effect if the top layer is black.

Ditto to what I said on Color Dodge.

OVERLAY

Combines the effect of both the Multiply and Screen moes whils blending the top layer with the bottom.

This one (and the next few) are probably the most used blending modes for me. Overlay really defines the colors in a photo and is sometimes the ONLY thing I do to a photo. LOVE this one!

SOFT LIGHT

Similar to the Overlay mode but produces a more subtle effect.

This one is what I use when Overlay is just a bit too much. Again... it is sometimes all I do to a photo.

HARD LIGHT

Uses the same approach as the Overlay mode but the change is more dramatic. Here the top layer is either Screened or Multiplied depending on it's color. There is no effect if the top layer is 50% gray.

This one really pumps up your photo. Sometimes I use this one by itself if I want a really edgy, dramatic effect, but I usually have to play with the opacity a bit.

VIVID LIGHT

Combines the effets of both the Color Burn and color Dodge modes and applies the blend based on the color of the top layer.

This one is usually too harsh by itself, but used together with other blending modes, it can be very effective.

LINEAR LIGHT

Similar to the Vivid Light mode but produces a more dramatic relsult

I don't use this one as much, but there are some photos that it works beautifully on.

PIN LIGHT

Blends the light colors in the top layer using the Lighten mode and blends the dark colors using the Darken mode.

A photo on top of a photo doesn't show much difference with this one, but when blended over paper, it can REALLY come in handy when you're trying to get rid of the background in some photos... it does most of the work for you. But as you can see, it's not for every photo... as it gets rid of TOO much sometimes. :)

HARD MIX

Creates a flat toned picture with limited colors and lots of posterization. The luminosity of the top layer is blended wit hthe color of the bottom.

This blending mode is very cool, however, I've yet to use it on a layout. But it is GREAT at getting a very "pop art" effect. I'm determined to use this one on a layout at some point.

DIFFERENCE

Displays the tonal difference between the contents of the two layers by subracting the lighter pixels from either of the layers. This results in a dark and sometimes reversed image.

With the photo on photo here, I actually had to set the top layer at 80% opacity to even see the photo... it made it just a black image. but the photo on paper and paper on paper, you can see the effect it gives.

EXCLUSION

Similar to the Difference mode but produces less dramatic effects.

HUE

Combines the Hue (color) of the top layer with the Saturation (color vibracy) and Luminance (tones) of the bottom layer.

Didn't do us much good on the photo on photo or photo on paper, but the paper on paper... it gave us a totally different (and really pretty) peice of patterned paper. :)

SATURATION

Combines the Saturation (color vibrancy ) of the top layer with the Hue (color) and Luminance (tones) of the bottom layer.

Ditto to what I said about Hue.

COLOR

Combines the Hue (color) and Saturation (color vibrancy) of the top layer with the Luminance (tones) of the bottom layer.

Ditto to what I said about Hue and Saturation.

LUMINOSITY

Combines the Luminance (tones) of the top layer with the Saturation (color vibrancy) and Hue (color) of the bottom layer.

This one is cool too. As you can see with the photo on paper, it turned our photo the same color tone as the bottom layer... as well as with our paper on paper.

(**All blending mode definitions (shown above in itialics) provided by Adobe Photoshop CS2 A-Z by Phillip Andrews. www.photoshop-a-z.com)

Now... here are some quick reference guides for a quick look at the different modes altogether. (**NOTE: CS3 has 2 additional blending modes... Darker Color and Lighter Color that are shown below but not defined above. They both do pretty much the exact same thing as Darken and Lighten.)

Photo on Photo:

Photo on Paper:

Paper on Paper:

I would LOVE to know what you think of this tutorial. Feel free to leave comments!

If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, you can certainly email me at taylormade8330@yahoo.com.

***I would love to hear what type of tutorials YOU would like to see! While your here, stop by the "SUGGESTIONS box" and let me know what you would like to see! In the meantime....

STAY TUNED for these great tutorials coming up....

ALL ABOUT TEXT: Choosing the right font for your layout; where to place it; what size to make it; what color; tips on journaling and documenting... everything I can think of about text.

INSPIRATION NEEDED: You have a photo you want to scrap... you have it on your page... now what? I will take you through several different routes of a scrapbook page in progress and give you some starting points on what direction to take different photos in.

ORGANIZATION: Do you have a TON of digital scrapping supplies? Need to know how to organize them? I feel certain that everyone does it differently, but I will share my method with you to see if it might work for you.

BRUSHES: We will talk about downloading brushes, loading and saving brushes, organizing brushes, even making you OWN brushes!!!

You can find a PRINTABLE version of this tutorial (and all of my others) in the Tutorial Section at Oscraps!