Blending modes
control how pixels in an image are affected by a painting or editing
tool. It’s helpful to think in terms of the following colors when
visualizing a blending mode’s effect:
-
The base color is the original color in the image.
-
The blend color is the color applied by the painting or editing tool.
-
The result color is the color resulting from the blend.

The Multiply blending mode (top), Screen blending mode (center),
and Luminosity blending mode (bottom) applied to the starfish layer.
You can choose any of the following blending modes from the Mode
menu in the options bar:
- Normal
-
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. This
is the default mode. (Normal mode is called
Threshold
when you’re working with an image in bitmap or indexed-color mode.)
- Dissolve
-
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. However,
the result color is a random replacement of the pixels with the
base color or the blend color, depending on the opacity at any pixel
location. This mode works best with the brush tool and a large brush.
- Darken
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and selects
the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color.
Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker
than the blend color do not change.
- Multiply
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and multiplies
the base color by the blend color. The result color is always a
darker color. Multiplying any color by black produces black. Multiplying any
color by white leaves the color unchanged. When you’re painting
with a color other than black or white, successive strokes with
a painting tool produce progressively darker colors. The effect
is similar to drawing on the image with multiple felt-tipped pens.
- Color Burn
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens
the base color to reflect the blend color. Blending with white produces
no change.
- Linear Burn
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and darkens
the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing the brightness.
Blending with white produces no change.
- Lighten
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and selects
the base or blend color—whichever is lighter—as the result color.
Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter
than the blend color do not change.
- Screen
-
Looks at each channel’s color information and multiplies
the inverse of the blend and base colors. The result color is always
a lighter color. Screening with black leaves the color unchanged. Screening
with white produces white. The effect is similar to projecting multiple photographic
slides on top of each other.
- Color Dodge
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens
the base color to reflect the blend color. Blending with black produces
no change.
- Linear Dodge (Add)
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and brightens
the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing the brightness.
Blending with black produces no change.
- Lighter Color
-
Compares the total of all channel values for the blend and
base color and displays the higher value color. Does not produce
a third color, which can result from the Lighten blend, because
it chooses the highest channel values from both the base and blend
color to create the result color.
- Overlay
-
Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the base color.
Patterns or colors overlay the existing pixels while preserving
the highlights and shadows of the base color. The base color is
mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness
of the original color.
- Soft Light
-
Darkens or lightens the colors, depending on the blend color.
The effect is similar to shining a diffused spotlight on the image.
If the blend color is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened. If
the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened.
Painting with pure black or white produces a distinctly darker or
lighter area but does not result in pure black or white.
- Hard Light
-
Multiplies or screens the colors, depending on the blend
color. The effect is similar to shining a harsh spotlight on the
image. If the blend color is lighter than 50% gray, the image is
lightened. This is useful for adding highlights to an image. If
the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened.
This is useful for adding shadows to an image. Painting with pure
black or white results in pure black or white.
- Vivid Light
-
Burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the
contrast, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light
source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by decreasing the
contrast. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image
is darkened by increasing the contrast.
- Linear Light
-
Burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the
brightness, depending on the blend color. If the blend color (light
source) is lighter than 50% gray, the image is lightened by increasing
the brightness. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the
image is darkened by decreasing the brightness.
- Pin Light
-
Replaces the colors, depending on the underblend color. If
the blend color (light source) is lighter than 50% gray, pixels darker
than the blend color are replaced, and pixels lighter than the blend
color do not change. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray,
pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker
than the blend color do not change. This mode is useful for adding
special effects to an image.
- Hard Mix
-
Reduces colors to white, black, red, green, blue, yellow,
cyan, and magenta—depending on the base color and the blend color.
- Difference
-
Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts
either the blend color from the base color or the base color from
the blend color, depending on which has the greater brightness value. Blending
with white inverts the base color values; blending with black produces no
change.
- Exclusion
-
Creates an effect similar to, but lower in contrast, than
the Difference mode. Blending with white inverts the base color values.
Blending with black produces no change.
- Hue
-
Creates a result color with the luminance and saturation
of the base color and the hue of the blend color.
- Saturation
-
Creates a result color with the luminance and hue of the
base color and the saturation of the blend color. Painting with
this mode in an area with zero saturation (a neutral gray area) causes
no change.
- Color
-
Creates a result color with the luminance of the base color
and the hue and saturation of the blend color. This preserves the gray
levels in the image and is useful for coloring monochrome images
and for tinting color images.

Using the Color blending mode to change the color of a shirt
- Luminosity
-
Creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the
base color and the luminance of the blend color. This mode creates
an inverse effect from that of the Color mode.