The Blend modes - from overlay to hard mix…
Blend modes are such a big part of my love of multiple exposure I thought I would write a whole blog on some of them. When I did a session on them in one of my courses (do check them out by the way ;) ) I realised that there were actually 21 different looks for the same images in the same position, so I thought I would start with the middle section - from overlay to hard mix.
So, the above is a 180 degree tree at RHS Wisley. I was unsure when I took these whether it would work out as I could see that the background was very busy but I was pleasantly surprised how the colour just made it separate enough from the background to show off the beautiful tree. This is using the overlay blend mode which just made the colour pop a little bit more.
Above left is ‘soft light’ and actually I don’t think it is very soft! That’s not to say I don’t like the effect but it has a hit of colour that goes with it. This was a sunset in Nice, France with the tiniest hint of pink from the sunset. This blend mode amplified that colour nicely just to give that bright pink streak on the horizon. This is 3 layers intentionally moved slightly so as to capture as many people as possible.
Above right is ‘hard light’ which I find can actually be softer than ‘soft light’! This is an image of two layers which I rotated slightly to making the best criss cross patterns with the leaves. This was also taken at RHS Wisley, Surrey.
Below left is how you can give architecture a gritty look. I used a texture with this gorgeous fountain (from RHS Wisley, again!) and the ‘vivid light’ blend mode to create some brighter colour and some really deep texture. I use the ‘vivid light’ blend mode rather a lot as it does a lot to brighten colours, so to make some vibrant multiple exposures, this is a good one to use.
Below right is a double exposure in the woods in Sussex. This was then blended using ‘linear light’ I use this blend mode less often but every now and then it gives a better result than ‘vivid light’ It is also quite vibrant and I love the way it has amplified that beautiful bluebell colour here.
Lastly in this group are ‘pin light’ and ‘hard mix’
Below left is ‘pin light’ and this was a surprising result for this blend mode as I don’t tend to use it that much. It has an effect very similar to the lighter blend modes, often with a blue tinge. In this case, however, it was perfect - and just goes to show you should always check them all!
‘Hard mix’ can be a harsh effect on a lot of images, and sometimes you can lose a lot of detail. This composition seems to work well with it though. Again, it does go to show that you should look at all of them!
Let me know if you liked this blog and if you would like to see more like that - I would LOVE to hear from you.
