Mode
Last updated on
Oct 27, 2025
Explore how different blending modes in Adobe Photoshop affect your images when using painting and editing tools.
Blending modes determine how pixels in your image are affected when using painting tools, editing tools, or multiple layers. Understanding these modes helps you achieve precise creative effects and solve specific editing challenges.
Normal group
These modes either replace or randomly mix pixels without complex calculations.
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Description |
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Normal |
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color. This is the default mode. In bitmap or indexed-color images, Normal mode is called Threshold. |
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Dissolve |
Edits or paints each pixel to make it the result color, but the result is a random replacement of pixels with either the base color or blend color, depending on opacity. |
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Behind |
Edits or paints only on the transparent part of a layer. Works only in layers with Lock Transparency deselected. Similar to painting on the back of transparent areas on acetate. |
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Clear |
Edits or paints each pixel and makes it transparent. Available only for the shape tools (when fill region is selected), Paint Bucket tool, Brush tool, Pencil tool, Fill and Stroke commands. Must be in a layer with Lock Transparency deselected. |
Darken group
These modes create darker results by preserving shadows, midtones, or dark colors from either the base or blend color.
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Mode |
Description |
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Darken |
Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color (whichever is darker), as the result. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced; pixels darker than the blend color don't change. |
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Multiply |
Looks at each channel's color information and multiplies the base color by the blend color. The result is always a darker color. Multiplying any color with black produces black; multiplying with white leaves the color unchanged. When painting with a color other than black or white, successive strokes create progressively darker colors. |
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Color Burn |
Looks at each channel's color information and darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing contrast. Blending with white produces no change. |
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Linear Burn |
Looks at each channel's color information and darkens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing brightness. Blending with white produces no change. |
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Darker Color |
Compares the total of all channel values for the blend and base colors and displays the lower value color. Doesn't produce a third color from blending, as it simply chooses the lowest channel values from either the base or blend color. |
Lighten group
These modes create lighter results by preserving highlights, midtones, or light colors from either the base or blend color.
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Mode |
Description |
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Lighten |
Looks at each channel's color information and selects the base or blend color (whichever is lighter), as the result. Pixels darker than the blend color are replaced; pixels lighter than the blend color don't change. |
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Screen |
Looks at each channel's color information and multiplies the inverse of the blend and base colors. The result 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. |
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Color Dodge |
Looks at each channel's color information and brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by decreasing contrast. Blending with black produces no change. |
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Linear Dodge (Add) |
Looks at each channel's color information and brightens the base color to reflect the blend color by increasing brightness. Blending with black produces no change. |
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Lighter Color |
Compares the total of all channel values for the blend and base colors and displays the higher value color. Doesn't produce a third color from blending, as it simply chooses the highest channel values from either the base or blend color. |
Contrast group
These modes increase contrast by darkening areas darker than 50% gray and lightening areas lighter than 50% gray.
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Mode |
Description |
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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 not replaced but is mixed with the blend color to reflect the lightness or darkness of the original color. |
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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. Blending with pure black or white produces a distinctly darker or lighter area but does not result in pure black or white. |
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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, as if it were screened. If the blend color is darker than 50% gray, the image is darkened, as if it were multiplied. This mode is useful for adding shadows to an image. |
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Vivid Light |
Burns or dodges the colors by increasing or decreasing the contrast, depending on the blend color. If the blend color 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. |
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Linear Light |
Burns or dodges the colors by decreasing or increasing the brightness, depending on the blend color. If the blend color 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. |
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Pin Light |
Replaces the colors, depending on the blend color. If the blend color 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. |
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Hard Mix |
Adds the red, green, and blue channel values of the blend color to the RGB values of the base color. If the resulting sum for a channel is 255 or greater, it receives a value of 255; if less than 255, it receives a value of 0. Therefore, all blended pixels have red, green, and blue channel values of either 0 or 255. This changes all pixels to primary additive colors (red, green, or blue), white, or black. |
Comparative group
These modes create results based on comparing or inverting colors between layers.
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Mode |
Description |
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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. |
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Exclusion |
Creates an effect similar to but lower in contrast than Difference mode. Blending with white inverts the base color values. Blending with black produces no change. |
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Subtract |
Looks at the color information in each channel and subtracts the blend color from the base color. In 8- and 16-bit images, any resulting negative values are clipped to zero. |
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Divide |
Looks at the color information in each channel and divides the base color by the blend color. |
HSL group
These modes affect specific HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminosity) components of colors.
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Mode |
Description |
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Hue |
Creates a result color with the luminance and saturation of the base color and the hue of the blend color. |
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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 no (0) saturation (gray) causes no change. |
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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. |
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Luminosity |
Creates a result color with the hue and saturation of the base color and the luminance of the blend color. This mode creates the inverse effect of Color mode. |
Blending modes availability
Not all blending modes are available for all tools or in all color modes:
- Blending modes available for 32-bit images are: Normal, Dissolve, Darken, Multiply, Lighten, Linear Dodge (Add), Difference, Hue, Saturation, Color, and Luminosity.
- The Behind mode is only available for the Brush tool when working on layers without Lock Transparency.
- The Clear mode is only available for the shape tools (with fill region selected), Paint Bucket tool, Brush tool, Pencil tool, Fill command, and Stroke command when working on layers without Lock Transparency.
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