Blending Modes - Photoshop for Beginners | Lesson 5

Understanding Blend Modes in Photoshop

In this video, we will learn about blend modes and how they control the way a layer interacts with other layers. We will explore the six most important blend modes that we use in 95 to 99% of our Photoshop life.

Normal Blend Mode

• The normal blend mode is usually the default blend mode.

• It is like keeping a picture on top of another picture.

• The only control you have over the interaction of both pictures is decreasing the opacity.

Group Blend Mode

• When you create a group, the default blend mode is pass-through which lets all adjustments inside of the group pass through to the outside.

• If you change the blend mode of the group from pass-through to normal, it will keep adjustments inside of the group and won't get outside.

• The normal blend mode has some special use cases when creating groups.

Screen Blend Mode

• The screen blend mode makes things brighter.

• It can be used to remove black backgrounds and create a winter/summer effect.

Multiply Blend Mode

• The multiply blend mode makes things darker.

• It can be used to darken images or add shadows.

Overlay Blend Mode

• The overlay blend mode combines both screen and multiply modes.

• It increases contrast and saturation while preserving highlights and shadows.

Soft Light Blend Mode

• The soft light blend mode adds a soft glow to images.

• It can be used for portrait retouching or adding warmth to an image.

Hard Light Blend Mode

• The hard light blend mode adds more contrast than soft light.

• It can be used for dramatic effects or adding texture to an image.

Other Blend Modes

• There are many other useful blend modes such as color dodge, color burn, hue, saturation, luminosity, etc.

However, these are not commonly used in everyday Photoshop work.

Conclusion

• Blend modes are an essential tool in Photoshop that can help you create unique and creative effects.

• By understanding the different blend modes, you can take your editing skills to the next level.

Understanding Blend Modes

In this section, the speaker explains how blend modes work in Photoshop and how to use them for easy darkening.

Using Multiply Blend Mode for Easy Darkening

• Brightness levels range from 0% absolute black to 100% absolute white.

• The multiply blend mode darkens the overall image by keeping the black and hiding the white. It is an easy way to darken images without worrying about values.

• Real-world examples of using multiply blend mode for darkening include making a duplicate layer and changing its blend mode to multiply. Double-click on the right-hand side of the layer and take it away from the dark areas of the underlying layer or current layer.

• Instead of duplicating layers, create an adjustment layer that doesn't make any changes by default. Change its blend mode to multiply so you can select it, move it around, and not worry about discrepancies when stretching or moving things around.

Using Multiply Blend Mode with Birds on Blue Sky

• To bring birds into an image with a blue sky, make a selection of the birds using any selection tool such as lasso tool. Copy (Ctrl/Cmd + E), paste (Ctrl/Cmd + V), convert into smart object, resize (Ctrl/Cmd + T), and change its blend mode from normal to multiply.

• If there are issues with transparency after changing blend modes, create a curves adjustment layer that targets only the birds' bright areas. Click on this button to create a clipping mask so that only those bright areas are affected.

Curves Adjustment Layer

In this section, the speaker explains how to use the curves adjustment layer and how to make birds have a warmer color.

Using Curves Adjustment Layer

• Click on the curves adjustment layer to open up its properties.

• To make birds have a warmer color, click on the adjustment layer icon and choose Hue saturation.

• Create a clipping mask by clicking on the button with arrows towards the birds.

• Change blend mode from normal to screen to brighten the image.

Screen Blend Mode

In this section, the speaker explains what screen blend mode is and how it can be used for flat out brightening.

Understanding Screen Blend Mode

• Screen blend mode only brightens and keeps white.

• Multiply blend mode keeps black hides white and makes everything darker.

• Create levels or curves adjustment layer that doesn't change image unless we do anything.

• Use blendif double click on right-hand side of layer to take brightness away from bright areas of underlying layer.

Adding Smoke Effect

In this section, the speaker explains how to add smoke effect in an image using blending modes.

Adding Smoke Effect

• Drag smoke image with black background over canvas.

• Change blend mode from normal to screen.

• Create a negative mask by selecting the smoke layer and holding ALT key or option key and clicking on the mask button.

• Make another copy of smoke image and turn off the mask by holding shift key and clicking on it.

• Select smoke, press Ctrl or command d, right-click on it, choose flip horizontal to make it different.

Coloring Smoke Effect

In this section, the speaker explains how to colorize smoke effect in an image.

Coloring Smoke Effect

• Click on adjustment layer icon and choose Hue saturation to colorize smoke effect.

• Use same adjustment before limited to the Smoke by clicking on this button and just colorize entire thing.

The speaker also provides real-world examples throughout the video for each section discussed above.

Using Overlay and Soft Light Blend Modes

In this section, we learn about overlay and soft light blend modes. We explore how they are related and do the same thing but with different intensities. We also see how they increase contrast by making bright areas brighter, dark areas darker, and hiding anything that is 50 Gray.

Overlay Blend Mode

• Changing the blend mode from normal to overlay brightens anything that is brighter than 50 Gray and darkens anything that is darker than 50 Gray.

• The overlay blend mode can be used for overlays such as adding texture to an image or increasing contrast in a faded painting.

Soft Light Blend Mode

• Soft light is similar to overlay but with a lower intensity.

• Soft light can be used when you want a more natural look compared to overlay.

Color Blend Mode

In this section, we learn about the color blend mode. We see how it changes only the color of an image without changing its brightness levels.

Color Blend Mode

• The color blend mode changes only the color of an image without changing its brightness levels.

• It can be useful when you want to change the color of an object in an image without affecting its brightness levels.

Correcting Skin Color in Photoshop

In this section, the speaker demonstrates how to correct skin color in Photoshop using the brush tool and blend modes.

Sampling Skin Color

• To sample good skin color areas, choose the eyedropper tool and set the sample size to 3 by 3.

• Hold down ALT or Option key to use the eyedropper tool and click on a desired area of skin.

• The sampled color will appear in your foreground color box.

Correcting Green Cast

• Change the blend mode to "Color" and paint over green areas with the sampled skin color.

• Decrease opacity to about 50% for a more natural look.

Correcting Red Patches

• Sample a warmer color and fill in pale areas or red patches on the skin.

Brightening Skin Tone

• Create a curves adjustment layer and brighten only the face by selecting its mask, inverting it, and painting over it with white as your foreground color.

• Turning off this layer reveals any remaining green cast that needs correcting.

Recap of Blend Modes

• Normal is default but changing group blend mode from pass through to normal prevents adjustments from leaving group.

• Screen brightens while Multiply darkens.

• Overlay increases contrast while Soft Light hides everything that is 50% gray.

• Multiply hides everything that is 100% white while Screen hides everything that is 100% black.

• Color changes colors without affecting luminosity.

Overall, this tutorial provides an overview of how to correct skin tone using various techniques in Photoshop.