Photoshop Tutorial - Blending Two Images

1. Create a new layer or use CRTL+N. I name the layer Blending. Mine is width 10 inches, height 8 inches, but you can make it any size you want.

2. Click on the Foreground Color swatch in the toolbox and then click OK. In this tutorial I chose a dark color (brown #5c4b01, R-92, G-59, B-1). Fill the background with this color. See the image below.

3. Open the first image you want to use in your two image blend. Click the move tool in the toolbox or press v to switch to the move tool. Click and drag the image into the brown background. If the image is larger, you can resize it by pressing CTRL+T to bring up the Free Transform (or you can go under the Image menu and choose Free Transform). See the image above.

4. Open the second image and follow the directions in step 3 as shown above.

5. Remember to rename your layers in the Layer Palette. Make the 3rdlayer active (flower layer). Click the brush tool or press b. Choose a soft large brush (200 pixels) from the brush picker. I adjusted the Hardness to 10%.

6. On the Layer Palette, click on the Add a Layer Mask icon or add a Vector Mask (as shown above). While the 3rd layer is active, take the 200 pixels brush and move it in a circular motion until the 2nd layer is softly blended into the other image.

7. Add a new layer and fill the image with the Foreground brown color. Set it to the same brown color that is used in Step One. This will create a solid color on top of the layers. See the image below.

8. While the 3rd layer is active, change the Layer Blending Mode from Normal to Color in the Layers palette.

9. As soon as you change from Normal Blend mode to Color mode, you will get the same results as above. Now, for a little adjustment, click the 3rd layer to make it active, and then go under the Filter image and choose Gaussian Blur or Box Blur from the Blur menu. When the dialog box appears, set the Radius to 2 pixels then click OK.