Blend modes in photoshop are a wonderful thing that can do so much for a photo. The best thing is that you can use them as a quick fix for editing the density of a photo or for adding extra depth.
I thought I’d do a quick run through of a few different techniques using just the blend modes, layers and maybe season with a filter. All these techniques take moments to do but are very rewarding.
Using the blend modes to adjust density
Making a photo lighter
Step 1
Duplicate the background layer
Step 2
Change the layer blend mode to screen
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Of course you need to remember, each photo needs to be adjusted case by case. Some photos you can leave the opacity of the screen layer at 100%, some photos need the screen layer opacity reduced. But never the less this is a very quick and effective editing technique.
Making a photo darker
Step 1
Duplicate the background layer
Step 2
Change the layer blend mode to multiply.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
As you can see this photo would still need further work to correct the yellow colour cast, but that’s a tutorial for another day 
Of course you need to remember, each photo needs to be adjusted case by case. Some photos you can leave the opacity of the multiply layer at 100%, some photos need the mulitply layer opacity reduced. But again, this is a very quick and effective editing technique.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of editing with blend modes – creating different effects just using blend modes, gaussian blur and the blend if sliders.
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Sasha has been a photoshop nerd and photographer for over 10 years now. She loves to share information and make the world a more colourful place, perhaps a little photoshop enhanced.