Advanced Layer Blending in Photoshop

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Photoshop’s Layer Modes provide several ways of enabling you to see through the current layer to the layers beneath. But, as we’ll see, simply choosing one of these modes isn’t always enough. Instead, we can use the Blend If controls to selectively hide a layer based on its luminosity—often, with spectacular results.

Step 1: The starting images

This photograph of fireworks has been placed on top of an image of London’s Houses of Parliament. I want to be able to remove all the black from the fireworks explosion, so it appears on the daytime sky.

Step 2: Layer modes aren’t enough

The obvious way to approach this might be to change the Layer Mode from Normal to Screen – and yes, this does remove all the black. But what’s left looks very washed out. This method won’t work here; so change the mode back to Normal and we’ll try something else.

Step 3: Open the Layer Style dialog

Double-click the firework layer’s thumbnail in the Layers panel to open the Layer Style dialog. We’re going to be looking at the Blend If section, right at the bottom.

Step 4: Drag the slider

If you grab the left-hand slider beneath the This Layer section and drag it to the right, you’ll hide everything on the current layer that’s darker than the value to which you drag it—in this case, a gray value of 25. Just like that, all the black disappears, without losing the strength of the firework.

Step 5: A closer look

When you zoom in, though, you can see that this produces a sharp cutoff. There’s an ugly bitmap stepping between the visible and the hidden parts of the firework.

Step 6: Split the slider

If you hold Option (Mac) / Alt (Windows), you can split the slider into two, and drag each half independently. Here, everything darker than the value of 22 is hidden, and everything brighter than the value of 72 is fully visible. The image fades smoothly into view between these two values, producing a much more appealing result.

Step 7: The underlying layer

You can also control the visibility of the current layer depending on the luminosity of the layer beneath it. Here, dragging the left-hand Underlying Layer slider to the right hides the firework layer where the layer beneath is darker than, in this case, a value of 139.

Step 8: Soften the result

Once again, you can split the slider in two by holding Option/Alt as you drag it. So now, everything darker than 145 is hidden, everything brighter than 185 is visible, and the image smoothly fades between those two values.

Step 9: The blend result

Click OK to apply the blend effect, and you’ll see that not only is the firework full strength, it’s also neatly hidden behind the branches of the tree.

Step 10: It moves!

The huge advantage of this method is that the firework will be hidden, based on the brightness of the layer beneath, wherever you put it. So you can move it around at will, placing it wherever you like behind the tree. Note that nothing has been erased from the firework layer: you can always open the dialog again and adjust its settings, or remove the effect altogether.

Steve Caplin is a freelance photomontage artist based in London, whose satirical illustrations have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. He is the author of the best-selling How to Cheat in Photoshop, as well as 100% Photoshop, Art & Design in Photoshop and 3D Photoshop. He writes regularly for CreativePro and is an instructor at LinkedIn Learning. His YouTube channel 2 Minute Photoshop is a library of over 100 Photoshop tutorials, each just two minutes long, hosted at photoshop.london. When he’s not at his computer Steve builds improbable furniture, which can be seen at curieaux.com.
  • Daniel says:

    I’m sorry to say that this still leaves edges of the firework darker than the sky (see Steps 8 & 9) which looks unnatural even when the edges are softened by splitting the sliders.

    • I agree! In the real world fireworks *during the day* WILL look washed out!!! (Derrr…) They will NEVER look like the groovy end result displayed at the end of this tutorial. (I mean REALLY; have you ever seen daytime fireworks that look like that?!) Steve Caplin often has good ideas presented in his contributions. This is not one of them.

      • Atlanta Jane says:

        Perhaps use another image that would be appropriate to what you wish to add to the layer – its the technique one is learning – isn’t it?

      • Steve Caplin says:

        The example used a firework for clarity. If the edges are too dark, then move the sliders some more. If the whole image is too strong, lower the opacity of the layer.

        This tutorial was showing what’s possible. You could use an explosion, or a flame, or any image with a dark background – just use your imagination!

  • Fred Arnold says:

    Very nice – thanks!

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