How To Use “Blend If” In Photoshop Like a PRO: The Definitive 7-Minute Guide

Jesús RamirezJesús RamirezMasking & Backgrounds
ByJesús Ramirez

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Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.

In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to use “Blend If” like a pro.

This video will demystify this scary command to help you create fast and easy blends.

With the techniques that you will learn in this tutorial, you will be able to make fast and easy sky replacements, apply textures to text, create cool special effects, and much more.

“Blend If” is truly one of Photoshop’s unsung heroes and an extremely powerful tool that often gets overlooked.

Much like Blending Modes, “Blend If“, allows you to blend layers together but with much more control.

Watch this tutorial all the way through and let me know in the comments what you think!

INDEX – How To Use “Blend If” in Photoshop Like a PRO

04:48 – Blend If Explanation (Gray)
02:54 – Use Blend If To Create Special Effects
04:06 – Apply Textures Using Blend If
05:24 – Blend If Explanation (RGB channels)
07:40 – Sky Replacements Using Blend If

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Jesús Ramirez

About the author

Jesús Ramirez

Jesús Ramirez is a graphic designer and the founder of the Photoshop Training Channel, which he started in 2012 and has grown past two million YouTube subscribers. He has taught at Adobe MAX, Adobe Summit, and Photoshop World, teaches courses for CreativeLive and Pluralsight, and was one of five artists chosen for Adobe Stock's Make a Masterpiece campaign. His Photoshop templates shipped inside Photoshop CC 2018.

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22 Comments

    2. Blend if is great I am trying to add a sky behind a bridge but parts of the bridge disappear when I try to add a sky using blend if how can I stop this .

      1. You can duplicate the bridge image, place it on top. Then create a layer mask. Fill it with black, and paint the mask with white in areas where the bridge should be to bring it back.

  8. When I use the Blend If method of replacing a sky, in a file with snow-topped mountains, I double click the top layer and then click blue. When I start sliding the white slider it begins knocking out the blue in the snow before it knocks out the sky to reveal substitute sky below. If I keep sliding it replaces sky AND snow with replacement sky.
    What am I doing wrong or how do I handle this? I had a similar situation with water in a picture that was being replaced also because it contained blue.

    1. You are not doing anything wrong, per se. You have to think of the colors in your image and the sky. In some cases the blue slider will not be enough, you may need to use other sliders (Gray, Red, and/or Green). You may even have to use a rough mask. Like in this video from 2:35 to 5:15. https://youtu.be/OU52Iq1NQQY?t=2m35s

  10. Hi Jesus, really informative video. Well done! Desiring to learn how to replace washed out in grey skies in real estate images with a Bluer sky more natural looking sky. Would I leave the blend if sliders on Gray to remove the gray? Or is there another technique you can share? Thank you very much, Tony

  11. ¡Jesús!

    Although you tend to go a little fast sometimes, your tutorials are always of great value, even when I (have to ;))see them for the tenth time (to remember the “tricks”).

    Wondering if I could download the example files you used in this indispensable <> as they tell me more than the proverbial 1000 words.

    Bye,

    M.

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