Professional tips, tricks, and important points
As we close, I want to give you some guidance on common blend modes for common tasks. I do want to note, however, that there is no perfect rule or perfect blend mode for every task. There have been many times in my edits where I shaded using Darken instead of Multiply, and many more subtle blend modes can be achieved by using a more aggressive mode and then reducing the opacity. So, the following list is a starting point, but not the end. These are common blend modes for common tasks:
- Shading and darkening: Multiply
- Adding overlay textures: Overlay
- Heavy lightening: Screen
- Dynamic darkening: Linear burn
- Dynamic lightening: Color dodge
Tips to make your work more dynamic
Lastly, as a professional, some of my most dynamic edits have been when I combined a layer blend mode with an Adjustment layer blend mode; that interaction adds a ton of interest and value and defines your personal style. The following...
