Images & Layers Blending Modes

new in Cs3

Blending means the effect you give to a layer or an image by using the combination of colors between the selected current layer/image and the layer/image exactly below.

There are (23) blending modes in Photoshop and they are:

1. Normal Blending Mode: this is the default blending mode in Photoshop, you can see no changes or any blending between the selected layer and the layer below it at the opacity percentage of 100% for the selected layer, but if you lower the opacity of the selected layer, the color of each pixel in the selected will be automatically averaged with the pixel in the lower layer in the layers palette.
2. Dissolve: if you want to see that effect clearly it works best on feathered edges of any image, try to lower the opacity of the selected layer to see how this command will dither the pixels on the edges.
3. Darken: this blending mode works only on dark pixels so if you are using white or light colors it won’t work with the pixels in the selected layer must be darker than the pixels in the layer below, so the main idea is that the light pixels in the layer below will be replaced and the dark pixels (darker than the pixels in the selected layer) won’t be replaced or changed.
4. Multiply: as it’s name implies this mode will multiply the base color in an image by the blend color giving usually a darker effect unless the blend color is white this won’t cause any effect.
5. Color burn: the process of darkening the base color to reflect or make the blending color more visible and this process works by increasing the contrast, as I explained in the previous example if you are using the white color as a blending color, it wont give any effect or change so try to keep the blending colors dark.
6. Linear burn: the process of darkening the base color to reflect or make the blending color more visible but this time not by increasing the contrast but by decreasing the brightness, in this command white blending colors wont give any effect also, so try to keep the blending colors dark as well.
7. Lighten: here we’re giving the exact opposite command of (darken) the pixels in the selected layer must be lighter than the opposite pixels in the layer below, the darker pixels in the layer below the selected layer will replaced, but the lighter layers won’t be changed or replaced.
8. Screen: the screen command is the exact opposite command of multiply instead of multiplying the base color and the blending  color it multiplies the inverse of them, giving you a lighter effect, because the result is lighted you should know that using darker colors won’t give any effect so in this command make sure that you’re using light colors.
9. Color Dodge: we said in the color burn command that it’s the process of darkening the base color to make the blending color more visible, well color dodge is the exact opposite of that command, this command will brighten the base  color to make the blending color more visible by decreasing the contrast. As I explained in the previous command using dark colors here won’t give any effect so make sure to use light colors toe see the effect clearly.
10. Linear Dodge: it is the process of brightening the base color to make the blending color more visible by increasing the brightness. Again blending with dark or black colors won’t give any effect; make sure that you’re using light colors in this command as well.
11. Overlay: this command will make either (multiply) or (screen) effect and that depends on the base color that you used, this process won’t cause any color  replacement in the base color but will cause mixing with the blending color instead to make the darkness or lightness of the original color that you used more visible.
12. Soft Light: this command will lighten or darken the colors and it all depends on the blending colors as explained in the previous example, the effect applied here as if the image is exposed to a soft light source and it works like this:

1. If the blending color that you’re using is lighter than 50% gray it will cause a lighting effect on the image.
2. If the blending color that you’re using is darker than 50% gray it will cause a darken effect on the image as if the image was burned.

13. Hard Light: this command will either give a (multiply effect) or (screen effect) of course it also depends on the blending color that you’re using as I explained in the previous example. This command will also give the effect of a spotlight or a light source hitting the image but the difference is that the light is stronger.

a)      If you used a blending color that is lighter than 50% gray the effect that you’ll get is a lighting effect or it will give a screening effect.

b)      If the blending color that you are using is darker than 50% gray the effect that you’ll get is a darkening effect or it will give you a multiply effect.

14. Vivid Light: this command will give you the effects of either (burn) or (dodge) of the colors that you are using and this effect happens by increasing or decreasing the contrast, and as I explained in previous examples this effect will happen depending on the blending color that you are using in that image you’re applying the blending mode on. So as explained earlier it all depend, if the blending color is darker or lighter than 50% gray:

1. If the blending color you’re using is lighter than 50% gray it will give a lighting effect on the image and this happens by decreasing the contrast.
2. If the blending color that you’re using is darker than 50% gray the effect you will get on your image is darkening effect and this effect happens by increasing the contrast.

15. Linear Light: this command will give you either a  (burn) or (dodge) effect on the colors that you choose by either increasing or decreasing the brightness of course it all depends on the blending color that you are using in the image and it works like this:

1. If the blending color that you are using in your image is lighter than 50%gray, the effect that you’ll get as a result is a lighting effect on the image, and this effect happens by increasing the brightness.
2. If blending color that you are using in your image is darker than 50% gray, the effect that you’ll get is a darkening effect on your image, and this effect happens by decreasing the brightness.

16. Pin light:  this command simply will replace colors, and it all depends on the blending colors that you’re using. This effect happens like this:

1. If the blending colors that you are using is lighter than 50% gray the pixels that are darker than the blending color you’re using will be replaced, but the pixels that are lighter than the blending color that you are using will not be changed or replaced.
2. Here if the blending color that you are using in the image is darker than 50% gray, the pixels that are lighter than the blending color that you ‘re using will be replaced. But pixels that are darker than the blending color that you’re using won’t be changed or replaced.

17. Hard Mix: that command will make a combination between the pixels in the layers that you created by using a blending mode that I explained earlier in this chapter called the (Vivid Light) then apply something called color threshold on them.
18. Difference: if you have two layers, according to the brightness values of the upper selected layer, it will invert the lower layers. In that command if you are using the white color as a blending color it will invert the base color, but if the blending color that you’re using is black you won’t see any changes.
19. It’s the exact same effect given in the difference blending mode but it happens by lowering the contrast and as explained in the previous example you need to use a light color to see the effect (white color) black color as a blending color won’t make any changes to the image.
20. Hue: this command will make the following effects:

1. It will cause a hue of the blending color that you are using in the selected layer.
2. It will give you result of a color in the lower layer with (luminance) and (saturation) effect.

21. Saturation: this will cause the following effect on the following colors:

1. Blending color: Saturation effect.
2. Base color: Hue effect.

      Tip* Make sure that when you’re painting in any area with this mode it should have (saturation), in other words it shouldn’t be not (gray) because if it was gray it won’t give you any changes.

22.  Color: this mode is best used on monochrome images, this mode will give the following colors the following effects:
a.      Base color: Luminance effect.
b.      Blending color: Hue and saturation effect.

23.  Luminosity: what this mode will give you is an inverse effect from the effect that the (color) mode gave you. It will give the following colors the following effects:
a.      Base color: Hue and saturation effect.
b.      Blending color: luminance effect.