Blend mode boosters
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine|February 2022
James Paterson shares his tricks to enhance your image’s tones and colours with layer blend modes in Affinity Photo
James Paterson
Blend mode boosters

THE MISSION

Use blend modes and painting tricks to boost skies, trees and buildings in Affinity Photo

Time needed 20 minutes

Skill level Beginner

Kit needed Affinity Photo

Landscapes will often benefit from local adjustments to pull out detail, enhance colours or reveal textures in specific parts of the scene. One way this can be achieved is with layer blend modes. These are often thought of as a means to combine two or more images into one, but blend modes can also be hugely useful for enhancing colours and tones. In this project we’ll look at how to use blend modes in combination with other tools and adjustments to enhance the famous landscape of Meteora in Greece. We’ll break the scene down into different areas – trees, sky, buildings, rocks – and apply tailored edits to each. Whatever landscape you choose to edit, it can usually be divided up in a similar way.

Two of the most useful blend modes for this effect are Overlay and Soft Light. By painting colours on a layer set to the Soft Light mode we can enhance and enrich the existing colours in the scene. We can also paint in extra punch using the Overlay blend mode, and add drama to the sky. The Linear Light mode is another useful one for boosting colours. We’ve used it here to lift the reds in the roof of the monastery, which helps to draw the eye towards the subject and contrasts with the surrounding greens and greys. Finally, the Multiply blend mode is handy for darkening down overly bright areas, so we can use it here to balance out the bright sky with the land below.

This story is from the February 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PHOTOPLUS : THE CANON MAGAZINEView All
CANON Speedlite EL-5
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

CANON Speedlite EL-5

With a touch of gold, it's the first Speedlite to feature Canon's new 'multi-function foot' £499/$399

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
Newo Ikkin
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Newo Ikkin

Professional portrait photographer Newo reveals the Canon gear and lighting equipment she can't live without when creating her fantastical photos

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
EXPOSURES MADE EASY
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

EXPOSURES MADE EASY

Learn all you need to know to take better exposures

time-read
8 mins  |
April 2024
INSPIRATIONS
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

INSPIRATIONS

STUNNING IMAGERY FROM THE WORLD OF CANON PHOTOGRAPHY

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2024
Manhattan makeover
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Manhattan makeover

James Paterson shows you how to transform cityscapes into eye-catching artwork with a combination of blending and selection skills in Affinity

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
Generate AI backdrops in Photoshop Beta
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Generate AI backdrops in Photoshop Beta

James Paterson demonstrates the new filter that creates backgrounds based on a few words

time-read
3 mins  |
April 2024
Enhance portraits with panel sliders
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Enhance portraits with panel sliders

Sean McCormack shows how to combine these controls to great effect in Lightroom Classic

time-read
2 mins  |
April 2024
Macro on a budget
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Macro on a budget

Dan Mold shows you how to capture detail without breaking the bank

time-read
4 mins  |
April 2024
Clear the streets
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Clear the streets

Dan Mold shows you how to remove people from tourist hotspots

time-read
2 mins  |
April 2024
Flash fungi in forests
PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Flash fungi in forests

Elevate your macro skills with off-camera flash as James Paterson teaches you to capture stunning mushroom photos on the forest floor

time-read
5 mins  |
April 2024