Blend Multiple Exposures Easily With Photoshop

There is no need for expensive HDR Software. Blending multiple exposures using luminosity masks has never been so easy. In this video I show a simple method to blend 2 & 3 images together in a couple of simple steps. It also shows you a method of controlling the blend in real time. So, you can watch and adjust the amount of blending and no longer need to guess which masks to use.

There are many methods of blending images, and it’s important to have an understanding of as many methods as possible. When one method isn’t working you can use an alternative. This tutorial shows one of the most effective methods of blending multiple images. Luminosity masking is one of the easiest and most effective methods.

Using a simple selection of either a Lights 1 or Darks 1, we use that luminosity selection to reveal detail in the image below our active layer, or the layer we are working on. Previously we may have been concerned about making sure we’ve made the perfect selection and from the correct area (lights or darks), we no longer need to worry about that. Once we make any selection and apply it to our layer, only to find out we had chosen the wrong mask, we simply invert the mask. We don’t have to go back to the beginning and create a new one.

Another great benefit of this method is that we can now adjust our selection in real time and watch what it is doing to our image. All we simply do is, with our layer mask selected, open up a levels adjustment and modify the mask. You will be able to watch the effect of the changes to that mask on the actual image itself in real time.