What Are Blend Modes in Photoshop?
Photoshop uses layers to create images, and these layers can interact with one another through blend modes. A blend mode is simply a preset method one layer can affect the color of another. When using blend modes, three elements exist: the base color, which is the layer to be affected; the blend color, which is the color that has the blend mode affecting it; and the resulting color, which is the final color. The programming behind some blend modes can be complex. So, when selecting between blend modes, it's typically easiest to apply one at a time and compare.
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Normal and Dissolve
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The default blend mode for most elements is Normal, which results in no blending at all. When one color is placed on top of another, the highest layer is unaffected. This mode is desired in most situations. The Dissolve mode is similar but will randomly select between the bottom color and top color for the final color, depending on the level of opacity of the blending layer.
Darken, Multiply, Color Burn
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The Darken, Multiply, and Color Burn modes result in a darker color than the base color. The simplest, Darken, will compare the base color and blend color, then select the darker color to be the resultant color. Multiply and Color Burn use more advanced algorithms, including elements like contrast and color multiplication, to darken the color, which may be more desirable for your composition.
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Lighten, Screen, Color Dodge
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The Lighten, Screen, and Color Dodge modes result in a lighter color than the base color. The simplest, Lighten, much like Darken, selects the lighter color between the base and blend color to be the resultant color. Screen and Color dodge are analogous to Multiply and Color Burn and use advanced algorithms to lighten a composition.
Overlay and Lights
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The Overlay mode is a combination of the Multiply darkening and Screen lightening methods. It applies either effect based on the base color. This combination typically results in more natural blends by maintaining the shadows and highlights of the original image. The various Lights that are located in the same category as Overlay will either lighten or darken an image in a variety of methods by comparing the base color to a neutral 50 percent gray.
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References
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