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Quick Tip: Blend Modes in Photoshop for Photo Manipulation

Quick Tip: Blend Modes in Photoshop for Photo Manipulation

Double exposure photography and photographic effects are pretty cool. The same goes for adding textures to your photographs to give them an added visual consistency. Here are a few examples of how you can use blending modes in Photoshop within the layer panel — all demonstrated for you so you don't have to lift a finger!

Before we get started, I want to make sure we're all on the same page.

In the Photoshop layer panel, there is a Blend Mode setting that can be chosen for each layer. By default, the Blend Mode is set to Normal, which just allows a layer to sit on top of the other layer with full opacity. That means that whatever layer on top will block out the layers underneath it wherever it covers the other layers.

layer panel demo in photoshop to show blend modes

If you click on that dropdown, you'll see a whole slew of Blend Modes. We'll be looking at the ones that are great for photo and texture overlays.

Using a Black and White Photo Over a Color Photograph

I love these two images from Unsplash.

bridge stock photo black and white forest stock photo

Multiply

Multiply is a blend mode that I use all the time. It's perfect for eliminating all of the white in the layer and making it like a transparency sheet on top of the other layers.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop multiply blend mode layer

Screen

Screen is also a must-use blend mode. Basically, it does the exact opposite of Multiply and allows the darkest parts of the top layer photograph to be transparent. It's frequently used for product mockups (like overlaying a screenshot over a photo of a laptop) because it makes it look like an image is being shown on a screen in a natural setting.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop screen blend mode layer

Subtract

With a black and white photo over another photo, you can get really great results with Subtract.

This blend removes light colors of the top layer from the layer underneath and changes it to black. This is especially great for cool double exposure photography effects in Photoshop because it can add a nice vignette effect when the black and white photo features a dark subject and a light surrounding.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop subtract blend mode layer

Luminosity

My final favorite blend mode for this type of photo combination is Luminosity. With this blend mode, the colors from the bottom layer will show through in a luminous way, meaning they'll be more pastel and subtle than the original colors, and the darker values will be ignored.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop luminosity blend mode layer

Using Blend Modes with Textures over Photographs

Now with a basic understanding of Photoshop blend modes, we can apply some fun effects to photos using textures.

Let's take this Distressed Leather #5 from our free leather texture pack and a photograph and play around.

leather texture eiffel tower stock photo

Screen

Most simply, with a dark texture like this you can easily apply the Screen blend mode to the texture layer on top of the photo layer and get an instant antiqued effect.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop luminosity blend mode layer

Multiply and Lower Opacity

A similar but more subtle effect can come from using the Multiply blend mode and reducing the Opacity of the texture layer. In the photo below I reduced the leather texture layer to 40% opacity.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop multiply opacity blend mode layer

Subtract

Just another cool effect by using the Subtract blend mode with a dark texture over the photograph.

bridge stock photo black and white on top of a forest photo double exposure using photoshop subtract blend mode layer
scissors

There are so many possibilities with blend modes, which are only the beginning of fun photo manipulation techniques in Photoshop. Play around more with opacity, layering, and colors, and you'll be well on your way to becoming a Photoshop artist.

What are some of your favorite Blend Mode recipes?


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