6 important blending modes for image retouching and photo editing

03 Apr 6 important blending modes for image retouching and photo editing

Layer Blending Modes is one of the important features of Photoshop. It helps in blending different layers of an image or blending two different images. Adobe Photoshop has 29 blending images but there are 6 important blending modes. The proper use of these modes gives a creative image which better effects.

To understand blending modes properly, there are two basic terms that you should understand. They are blending colour and base colour. The colour of the bottom layer of our photograph or an image is called the base colour whereas blending colour is the colour of the layer which is placed on the top of the base colour. The blending mode is applied to the blending colour layer.

Normal
This is the default blending mode and it changes our image completely into the top layer’s colour.

Overlay
It maintains the lightness and the darkness of the base image. In overlay blending mode, blending colour’s pixels are based on base layer’s pixels. It is the most commonly used blending mode. In this mode, the shadow of the photographs is maintained.

Darken
As the name suggests, it darkens the colour of the base image. It uses the darkest colours of both the blending and base images and replaces the lightest colours.

Colour Burn

This blending mode darkens the base colour and increases the contrast of the base and blending image.

Multiply
It results in darker colour ultimately. It multiplies the base colour by the blend image.

Difference
Here, the blend colour is subtracted by the base colour or vice versa. This process depends on the level of brightness of either of the images.