Photoshop Creative Issue

Blend with

layer masks

D

ouble-exposure imagery has roots in

photography. A juxtaposing of two (or even

more) images due to multiple exposures,

this technique oftentimes yields startlingly beautiful

visuals. You’ve more than likely seen this effect on

album covers, advertisements and posters.

Double exposures can be achieved in Photoshop

using multiple layers stacked on top of one another

and merged using layer masks and blend modes.

Before you get to the blending, though, you’ll

want to make selections of the playing pieces. Here

you’ll start by selecting and isolating an animal and

some mountains. You can certainly make the blend

without isolating these, but freeing each from their

respective backgrounds will give you flexibility in

editing as well as deployment. Blending will be

facilitated, and you can adjust the background or

swap it altogether.

The initial animal-mountainscape meld will be

realised with masks. You’ll then enhance with

blend modes, layering clouds with Screen and

doing a bit of painting with Color and Pin Light.

Some choice adjustments will help to add the final

spit and polish.

After completing the tutorial, why not try your

own double exposure? Find a worthy animal or

person, then pair your subject with an interesting

scene or object.

Produce a trendy animal double-exposure effect using layer

masks, blend modes and adjustment layers

Show us your creative edits Tweet us @pshopcreative

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Essentials

Works with

What you’ll learn

Combine images for a

double-exposure effect

using masks

Time taken

2 hours

Elements CS CC

Expert

Andre

Villanueva

“Layer masks and blend

modes are features I can’t

live without. I especially

love doing double-exposure

experiments and surprising

myself with combinations.

“I discovered Photoshop

while studying web design.

Ater graduating, I taught in

the media arts department.

I’m now art director for a

tech company, soothing my

inner instructor by sharing

techniques with readers.”

Select animal

02

Open ‘animal.psd’. Use the Quick Selection tool to make

a base selection of the animal. Use the Zoom tool to get

up close as needed. When you have a decent selection, go to

Select>Select and Mask [non-CC: Refine Edge].

Mask the mountain

01

Open ‘landscape.psd’. Use the Quick Selection tool to select the

mountains. Resize the brush with [ and ]. To remove from the

selection, hold Option/Alt while using the tool. When done, press the Add

Layer Mask button in the Layers palette. Save and close.