In this video tutorial, watch as Abbey Esparza shows you how to use advanced blending with Blend if in Photoshop.
In the video, Esparza starts by explaining a little of what Blend if is and how it works. Blend if can be accessed by double-clicking a layer on the outside of the layer name. You have two gradients you can slide backward and forwards, revealing and blending certain layers. This is all based on the lights and darks of your layers. Esparza next moves on to giving us a quick example before we get into the meat of the tutorial, showing us with blue paint exactly what it looks like when we move the sliders. In this section, she also shows us how the Alt key can help with your gradients.
As the video continues, Esparza continues by showing us her two favorite ways of using Blend if. The first one is for highlights and shadows. Using Curves, Esparza boosts the highlights of the image. Using Blend if eliminates the effect from the shadows and has it applied to the lighter areas, a great technique for portraits. Next, we move on to how to use Blend if with textures. When your texture is on top of your model layer, you can simply pull the sliders and bring out the layer underneath.
This tutorial is great for anyone who wants to learn advanced blending techniques. I use Blend if all the time in my images, as it is a very powerful tool.
