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[ 95 ]Step Eight: From here, we can rely on blend modes and masking to
combine the base image and the star trails. Start with Screen on the
smart object layer (turn off the Curves layer and the merged copy layer,
so the only visible layers are your base layer and the final star trails layer).
Other modes work really well in some circumstances, so it’s up to you what
you like.
In this case, we want to get rid of the few trails that overlap the silhouette,
so double-click to the right of the smart object layer’s name to open the Blend-
ing Options in the Layer Style dialog. Using the Blend If sliders at the bottom of
the dialog, move the black Underlying Layer slider just a touch to the right to
eliminate that problem, then click OK.
For a little extra zip, turn on the
unblurred star layer (the merged copy
layer you created at the beginning) and
set its blend mode to Linear Dodge
(Add). This tends to make the small
features more pronounced and crisp.While similar effects can be achieved
with blend modes, using Maximum
on a layer stack is convenient and
another trick for your tool box. nStep Seven