Photoshop has a very large number of tools and many never get any use or attention. I am surprised to hear from my fellow photographers that they do not know or use the blend mode, which offers a very powerful set of tools. Although it appears in different contexts, I would like to offer a few simple use tips in the layer blend mode context. This is available when there are layers on top of the background layer, any type of layer will do. You can change the blend more of each layer individually to arrive at a different result. Blend mode is accessible from its drop-down selector in the top left corner of the layers palette. If you have not changed it, it reads “Normal.” Simply click on that menu and you will see a large number of options for different blend modes. All changes to the blend mode are nondestructive and can be reverted back to “Normal” by simply choosing that from the menu. Here are a few quick and easy uses.
- If your image is underexposed, looks dark, create a copy of the background layer (shortcut is Ctrl-J) and change its blending mode to “Screen”. This will make your photograph a good deal lighter. If you feel that it has too strong an effect, change the layer opacity to a lower number than 100%.
- If your image is overexposed, looks light, create a copy of the background layer (shortcut is Ctrl-J) and change its blending mode to “Multiply”. This will make your photograph a good deal darker. If you feel that it has too strong an effect, change the layer opacity to a lower number than 100%.
- If your image looks flat, low in contrast, create a copy of the background layer (shortcut is Ctrl-J) and change its blending mode to “Soft light” or “Overlay”. This will quickly add contrast to your image. If you feel that it has too strong an effect, change the layer opacity to a lower number than 100%.
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