James PA terson

From pencil sketches to double exposures, discover how Photoshop’s Blend Modes can be used to get some truly creative effects for your photos

James explains how you can use Photoshop Blend Modes creatively

Double Exposure with Screen mode The Screen Blend Mode multiplies pixels’ brightness: areas stay the same or get brighter, never darker. The effect is similar to a traditional double exposure. Copy one image onto another (press Ctrl+A, or Cmd+A on a Mac, then Ctrl/Cmd+C, go to the other image and press Ctrl/Cmd+V) then change the Blend Mode to Screen and use the Move Tool to adjust the position if necessary.

Pencil sketch with Colour Dodge mode The Colour Dodge Blend Mode can be used for a pencil sketch effect. Press Ctrl/Cmd+J then Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+U to desaturate, then Ctrl/Cmd+J again, then Ctrl/Cmd+I to invert. You’ll have two copies of the original layer: both desaturated, one inverted. Set the top layer’s Blend Mode to Colour Dodge, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and apply blur to create the sketch effect.

Split tone with Exclusion mode

The Exclusion Blend Mode works by inverting colours that are brighter than the underlying layer. Used in combination with a colour layer, this can give a speedy split-tone effect. Go to the Layers Panel, click Create Adjustment Layer and choose Solid Colour. Select a blue, then change the layer’s Blend Mode to Exclusion. Adjust the layer’s opacity to tone down the effect if you like.

Blend images with textures Blend Modes are great for adding texture to your images. Overlay, Soft Light, Multiply, Darken, Screen and Lighten can all work well, so it’s worth experimenting. We’ve supplied a selection of textures with the start files for this project. Photoshop CC subscribers can download an excellent free extension called Adobe Paper Texture Pro, found by going to Window > Browse Extensions Online.