Blending Modes are Freakin’ Awesome
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First, thank you to all of my visitors yesterday, especially those of you who commented. I’m enjoying posting an abstract image followed up by a how-to post, so if you want to be sure not to miss anything, please subscribe to my RSS feed (really, it only takes a second!).
There were some great guesses as to how I captured this photo, ranging from colored cellophane to on-board photo filters, but the magic was performed by Photoshop CS2 and a little extra something. I actually posted two photos yesterday. They just happened to be one on top of the other.
Some time ago, I posted an image using a similar technique but I used nearly identical source images. This time around, I used two completely different images - one of a cloudy sky and another close-in shot of a painting (taken by my daughter, hence the partial photo credit). Here’s how it works.
In Photoshop, open two photos and make them equal sizes. It works best to have more contrast between the photos, but I’m sure it will work with anything. Then drag one layer on to the other image. In this case, I dragged the clouds over to the painting image. This should create another layer in that image. Close the image that you just dragged from.
I left the bottom layer (the painting) set to 100% opacity and kept the blending mode at normal. (The layer blending mode selector can be found on the layers palette next to the opacity setting.) The top layer of clouds is obviously going to block out the bottom layer, so we need to make it more see-through. Here’s where I adjusted the opacity to 75% and then changed the layer blending mode to luminosity. And that’s it.
Try experimenting with blending modes and opacity percentages in general and you’ll see a lot of interesting things happen. Just remember that you probably won’t see anything exciting happen with a single layer. Add another image or text layer and then adjust the blending mode of the top layer. Some modes will lighten, some will darken and some will cause a ghosting effect. Any way you slice it, blending modes are worth a look and can amplify the effect of your images significantly.


















This post has 7 comments
July 10th, 2008
interesting! Yesterday I posted an HDR merge of two different photos that created a really cool effect. Similar to what you did. Very creative! :)
Sister Sassys last blog post..Room to Nowhere
I’ll check out the HDR, thanks. Never tried one of those, but it’s on my mind.
July 10th, 2008
Saying that, I still didn’t guess how you did what you did. lol. Great shot again.
Sister Sassys last blog post..Room to Nowhere
July 10th, 2008
Looks beautiful! Sounds like something my daughter would really enjoy trying.
Hey, any chance you’ll do one of your video tutorials on this? ;-)
soapbox moms last blog post..If You’re an Original iPhone Owner - Then What?
It’s funny you mention video tutorials. I’ve been meaning to do one, specifically on this very topic. I have no screen recording software though for a mac. Any open-source (free) solutions you know of? I’d do it on the Windows machine, but I don’t have Photoshop on there.
July 10th, 2008
You’re speakin’ my language, brother.
Bill (not Jill)s last blog post..Whiffle® is a registered trademark of The Whiffle Ball, Inc.
Gotta love the blending modes. Nice site you have, I’ll be visiting again soon.
July 10th, 2008
Ha! My first guess was Photoshop!
dcrs last blog post..Do You Own Your Blogging Niche?
I would have been shocked if you didn’t guess Photoshop, given your background. For the record, I’ll probably be using Photoshop every week, so if you guess that you’ll be right every time. :)
July 10th, 2008
You know there was actually a good clue there at the top of yesterday’s post now that I look back.
You gave your daughter “partial” credit. That means either more then one photo merged or some doctoring or well what you said…
Michelle Gartners last blog post..Update on Free Retro (that means vintage) Postcards if You Help this Guy Get to Oxford- Post
July 31st, 2008
Ooo, sorry I’ve been slow to respond! I am just swamped these days…
Here are some names I’ve found just digging around online:
SnapzPro, iShowU, Screenium and Screenflick. I don’t know anything about them, though (sorry!). Another one (Screenflow) is $100.
I’ll keep an ear out for you, okay?
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