Blending Modes

The Blending Mode pop-up menu found in the upper left of the Layers palette determines how the active layer will interact with the underlying image. This menu can be especially useful when applying Adjustment Layers since it allows you to limit how they can affect your image.

There are three main blending modes that I find to be especially useful when using Adjustment Layers:

• The Hue blending mode will allow an adjustment to change the basic color of the underlying image, while preventing it from changing the brightness or contrast of the underlying image (also known as tonality), or how colorful the image is (also known as saturation). I primarily use this mode when I want to adjust the overall color of an image without adding color to areas that are neutral gray (Figures 11.20 to 11.22). It can also be useful when you notice that a color adjustment is making your image too colorful or is mellowing out the color too much.

  Figure 11.20. Original unadjusted image. (©2005 Andy Katz)

  

  Figure 11.21. Color shifted using Normal mode.

  

  Figure 11.22. Color shifted using Hue mode.

  

• The Color blending mode will allow an adjustment to affect both the hue (basic color) and saturation (how colorful) of the underlying image, while preventing it from changing the tonality of the underlying image. I use this blending mode anytime I'm attempting to change the color of an image without shifting the brightness in an undesirable way (Figures 11.23 to 11.25).

  Figure 11.23. Original unadjusted image.

  

  Figure 11.24. Color shifted using Normal mode.

  

  Figure 11.25. Color shifted using Color mode.

  

• The Luminosity blending mode will limit an adjustment so that it can only affect the brightness and contrast of the underlying image while preventing it from changing the color of the image. This mode is useful when you want to adjust the brightness of the image without shifting the color or making the image too colorful (which is often a consequence of darkening the image) (Figures 11.26 to 11.28).

  Figure 11.26. Original unadjusted image. (©2005 Andy Katz)

  

  Figure 11.27. Darkened using Normal mode.

  

  Figure 11.28. Darkened using Luminosity mode.

  

Using the pop-up menu at the top of the Layers palette isn't always the most ideal method for changing the blending mode of an Adjustment Layer because it's only available after an adjustment has been applied. If you'd like to choose a blending mode before applying an adjustment, hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) when choosing an adjustment type from the Adjustment Layer pop-up menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. That will cause the New Layer dialog box to appear, which includes a Mode pop-up menu where you can specify the blending mode you'd like to use for the Adjustment Layer you are about to create (Figure 11.29).