If you’ve watched even a few of my Photoshop Workbench tutorials, you know that adjustment layers are a great way to alter mood and lighting. But what you might not know is that there is a powerful, fun, and simple alternative to adjustment layers…blend modes. That’s right folks, blend modes are good for a whole lot more than just blending layers. Whenever an image looks flat or simply needs more drama, blend modes rise to the occasion. Allow me to show you what I mean…
Thank you, I found this workbench to be very interesting and informative.
Mark,
Terrific tutorial today! I often use duplicate layers and the blend modes but I hadn’t thought of using new layers and the blend modes before. You made it look so easy so I’m holding you to it :0) I’m thinking seriously about getting your Botanical Dreaming ebook. If I do, can I copy it on to a DVD and play it on my TV?
Thanks,
Murry
Thank you for this excellent tutorial! I am anxious to try this out. I appreciate your sharing this and many other things that have dramatically improved my editing.
Thanks Barry, Murry, and Diane! I’m glad you enjoyed the tutorial. Murry, the Botanical Dreaming eBook is a PDF file, so it only works on platforms that can read PDFs (such as computers and iPads). I haven’t tested it on a TV, but I suspect that it will not work there.
Hi
Thanks for the great videos. I have watched them for years and the quality has remained excellent throughout.
Have you considered a series using Photosuite 7.?
Thanks for this tutorial Mark. I have never had much luck remembering all the things that can be done with Blend Modes, or I should say not much luck learning Blend Modes. I can certainly use these tips. Keep it up.
Looks very interesting, but the video only plays for 3 minutes. What is happening? I would like to see the whole video . . . it says that it is about 9 minutes long
Earl.
Thanks, Ken! Your idea about a series on Photosuite 7 is a great idea. I’ll keep it in mind as I move forward.
Hi Earl. Sorry to hear that you’re experiencing technical difficulties. Have you tried playing the video in a different web browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari? Often times this solves the problem.
[...] increase the overall contrast of the image. (Check out Mark S. Johnson’s Photography Site Photoshop Workbench 374: Creating Dramatic Lighting with Blend Modes on how to do this.) A Curves Adjustment Layer was added and Auto button pressed to get a nice [...]
Thank you so much for mentioning my tutorial on your blog, Digital Lady Syd! You have a lovely site.
Excellant only problem now is I’m going to re-edit a lot of images.
Loads of tutorials are either hard to understand or boring – this one is great