Blending Modes: Overview

Contents

Overview

Blending modes are one of the powerhouse functions of Photoshop! Blending modes control how pixels in the image are affected by a painting or editing tool, or by a layer. You’ll find blend mode options for several tools, such as the brush tool. Layers can have blending modes, too, and you’ll find a blend mode drop-down menu just to the left of the layer opacity slider.

Blend Mode Groups
Source: PhotoBlogStop

Each mode uses an algorithm to mix pixels. You can find a detailed description of what each blending mode does on the Blending Mode Adobe Help page. Notice that the blend modes are divided into groups. Each group has similar, but slightly different algorithms. For example, the group containing darken, multiply, color burn, linear burn, and darker color all use algorithms that darken pixels as they mix. The next group lightens. You’ll learn more detail on this as you watch the video below. Take some notes – it covers just about everything you need to know about blending modes, and it’s so important for knowing how to use Photoshop!