The directions that follow show how to apply a blending mode by using the Layers palette. If you’ve never used blending modes before, open two images and give this a try. Also, this example uses the Luminosity blending mode. Don’t limit yourself to this particular blending mode; cycle through them all and see how they affect your images.
Open two images in Photoshop.
For this example, I use an image of the moon and a bug that I dubbed Sly Fly, as shown in Figure 17-2. My ultimate goal with these two images is to blend the fly onto the moon to make it look like there’s a bugly in the moon (instead of a man in the moon).
Figure 17-2: For this example, I’m combining these two images.
Make sure that both images are contained on regular layers, not the Background layer.
If you need to convert a Background layer to a regular layer, choose Layer>New>Layer from Background. In the New Layer dialog box, enter a name for the layer in the Name text box, and then click OK.
Drag one image layer from the Layers palette onto the other image window.
This copies the layer containing one image to the other image window.
For this example, because I want the fly positioned on top of the moon, I drag the layer containing the fly onto the Moon image window. The fly layer was automatically added to the Layers palette, as shown in Figure 17-3.
Figure 17-3: I dragged the layer containing the fly to the Moon image window.
If you look at the two layers in Figure 17-3, you notice that the fly is too big to fit in the moon area and that the fly is completely opaque. It doesn’t blend into the moon layer at all.
The first thing that I need to do is use the Transformation commands to scale and rotate the bug so that it fits into the moon area, as shown in Technique 18.) Next, I use a blending mode to blend the fly’s pixels with those of the moon.
Figure 17-4: After the fly is scaled and rotated, it fits into the moon area.
In the Layers palette, use the Blending Mode drop-down list to select a mode.
For this example, I chose Luminosity, which colors and shades the fly exactly like the moon behind it.
Adjust the layer’s opacity, if necessary.
The final touch for my bugly in the moon is to put the opacity down to 30%, letting more of the moon’s texture and lighting show through. (See Figure 17-5.)
Figure 17-5: Lowering the opacity of the Sly Fly layer makes the moon’s texture and lighting visible.