Adobe Photoshop CS4 Studio Techniques

Blending Modes

Blending modes work when you have two or more layers. The blending mode you choose determines how the active layer will interact with an underlying image. Previous chapters have looked briefly at the Blending Mode pop-up menu located at the top of the Layers panel. Chapter 5, “Adjustment Layers,” pointed out that certain blending modes can be especially useful when applying adjustment layers, since the blending mode allows you to limit how much those layers affect the image.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the blending modes now. Once you understand how the various modes work, you can jump in and start using them.

As with most Photoshop features, the blending modes are accessible in a variety of ways. In most situations, you’ll ...