Which Photoshop Layer Blending Modes do you use?

[Abitconfused]

Which blending modes do you use most when photo-processing? I have begun to use Soft Light to add contrast and density. I have used Multiply in the past and occasionally Hard Light for more extreme effects. I occasionally get good results when repairing a light image by making a new layer then: Image > Apply Image (soft light and adjust opacity).

[pnodrog]

Normal, darken, lighten and sometimes luminosity, color or multiply but not often. Darken or lighten I also often use when cloning.

[DanK]

Ed,

Because of the kinds of photography I do, I use layers relatively infrequently, so I am a real novice. However, I found this article very helpful: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/p...d-modes/intro/

Dan

[chauncey]

Relevant question Ed...I use them rarely but, should. Dan's link will benefit me!

[Manfred M]

I use normal, multiply, overlay, soft light and screen the most. I've used some of the others for more extreme and funky effects. I think the only one I've never used is disolve.

[Geoff F]

Much the same with me. Soft Light to add a little bit of saturation boost. Overlay and Hard Light do the same but are more extreme. Multiply is sometimes handy for contrast.

Luminosity I use a lot, particularly when using a Curves Adjustment Layer. It will only change the brightness not effect the saturation as well.

Sometimes when I get a sea scene which has gone excessively blue I will adjust the brightness with Luminosity and the colour with a separate Curves Layer using something like Hue.

One tip for recovering dark midtones is to use a Curves Layer and drag the top right corner of the diagonal line to the bottom; straight along the bottom edge. Everything goes dark. Switch to Screen Blend and start to move the centre of the line upwards until the desired effect is achieved.

Sometimes, Darken etc will be useful when adding something which has been pasted as a layer but is showing obvious edges, and a few other uses when everything else has failed.

When creating a selection with one of the auto tools I will sometimes create a new duplicate layer of the background then an adjustment layer of some sort, say Curves, and go for one of the extreme effects of contrast. This means the auto selection works better. Then delete these layers so the selection moves down onto the intended original background layer.

Blend Modes do take a bit of experimentation to master, then use whatever works for you.

[chauncey]

When creating a selection with one of the auto tools I will sometimes create a new duplicate layer of the background then an adjustment layer of some sort, say Curves, and go for one of the extreme effects of contrast. This means the auto selection works better. Then delete these layers so the selection moves down onto the intended original background layer.

Two of my favorites are the threshold adj. layer and curves set to negative.

[lukaswerth]

Apart from normal, soft light and overlay, others rarely, when an occasion arises. Playing with opacity in layer either affecting the entire image or with the brush tool is also sometimes a good idea - well, for me at least.

Lukas

[BJ Denning]

Jimmy McIntyre has some great city shots and a really nice video that walks through several blend modes.

[plugsnpixels]

Depends on whether I am doing artsy layer compositing or straightforward graphic design.

If artsy, I most often use Overlay to blend layers together (along with Layer Opacity), since the other modes usually tend to introduce too much unwanted effect for my particular case, though sometimes I will hit upon an alternate winner.

If graphic design/page layout, I most often use Screen or Multiply to drop the black/white background out of logos so the underlying image shows through and floats the logo art/text. It always takes me two tries because I unfailingly choose the wrong mode first!