How to Use Blending Modes in Photoshop | Day 15

Welcome to Day 15 of 30 Days of Photoshop! Today Aaron shows off just how powerful Blending Modes can be, letting you build lightning-fast composites and cool color effects without touching a single selection tool or layer mask. Congratulations, you're halfway through the challenge! Blending modes control how one layer interacts with the layers underneath it, and once you understand the handful of groups they fall into, you'll never look at that "Normal" dropdown the same way again. We'll pull a fish out of one background and drop it seamlessly into another, then use color fill layers to grade the whole image, all using nothing but blending modes. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro to Blending Modes for Compositing 01:12 The Six Blending Mode Groups Explained 03:09 Choosing Screen Mode to Reveal the Fish 04:57 Hiding Stars to Complete the Composite 07:13 Coloring the Image with a Fill Layer 08:30 Using Overlay and Soft Light to Blend Color 09:46 Sampling Colors to Warm Up the Image 11:09 Wrap-Up and Blending Mode Shortcut THE STEPS 1. Move your subject onto the new background, then open the blending mode dropdown above your Layers panel (it defaults to "Normal") 2. Choose a lighten-group mode like Screen if your subject is light on a dark background, or a darken-group mode like Multiply if it's dark on a light background 3. Sample a color from the background on a new layer underneath your subject to hide any distracting elements showing through 4. Add a Solid Color Fill Layer above everything, then cycle through blending modes to grade the image 5. Try Overlay or Soft Light for a subtle, blended color effect, or Color Dodge for something bolder 6. Lower the fill layer's opacity or desaturate its color if the effect feels too strong 7. Sample colors directly from your subject with the Brush Tool and paint them onto a new Soft Light layer to warm up the image 8. Hit V for the Move Tool, then Shift and Plus or Minus to quickly cycle through blending modes without opening the dropdown Join the 30 Days of Photoshop Challenge: https://phlearn.com/30-days-of-photos... Download the Sample Image: https://phlearn.com/30-days-day-15-bl... PHLEARN PRO: Want to keep leveling up your compositing and color grading skills after the challenge? Check out PHLEARN PRO at phlearn.com/pro ――――――――――――――― What is PHLEARN PRO? ● Instant access to over 1,000 Photoshop and photography tutorials ● New tutorials added every week ● Download sample images and project files to follow along ● Ask questions and get feedback from a community of creatives Use code PRO26 for a discount on your first month of PHLEARN PRO Follow PHLEARN: Instagram:   / phlearn   Facebook:   / phlearn   Twitter:   / phlearn   #Photoshop #BlendingModes #30DaysOfPhotoshop