Will it blend?

Disclaimer: this may not be the proper 'textbook' way of learning, but I will attempt to elaborate on these two important concepts as how it was taught to me!

As I mentioned in my first official post, Photoshop consists of layers. However, what makes it even more interesting, is Blending.

The Blending option provides you with different modes to combine your active layer with the layers below. These are the Blend Mode Groups provided:

Adapted from http://photoblogstop.com/photoshop/photoshop-blend-modes-explained

So how can I make use of Blending?

Shown below is the original photo. It feels a little flat... I would like to add some effects to it.

1. I google image searched for 'Colourful Light Bokeh' and found some nice designs.

2. Copy-paste it into your image.

3. Expand the image so that it covers the photo.

4. I selected the "Overlay" option.

5. I felt that the blending result was a little too harsh, hence I reduced the opacity of the layer to 50%.

And we're done! With just a simple selection of blend modes, your final photo can be a lot more interesting.

Go ahead and experiment for yourself! This is one of my favourite examples!

The "blood" or "red wine" spilled on the book is actually just another layer, blended onto the photo.

Let me know how it goes! 

Do comment or email me at samleejj@gmail.com if you have any difficulties.