Overlay Blend: Why not?..... or why?

paddler4 wrote in post #14612936
Check out this:

http://www.photoshopes​sentials.com …er-blend-modes/page-4.php

It explains what you found and why it works. All 5 pages are a worthwhile read.

Thanks paddler--I have read through that site before and found it very helpful. I'm still wondering about that black and white adjustment layer/overlay thing I asked about though.

RandMan wrote in post #14612655
Scatterbrained--would you mind walking me through this one? Is it as simple as adding a black and white adjustment layer, and just changing the blending mode to overlay? Or is there more to it? Also, what is doing that is different than just doing an overlay on a simple duplicated image as I orginally posted?

Would love to know!

Overlay is essentially a contrast sampling blend mode. Creating a black and white adjustment layer in overlay blend mode boosts contrast (sometimes way too much). You don't need to create a duplicate layer, just create the adjustment layer and mask in the effect where you want it. You can also play with the different color channels to affect the contrast as well, and then use the opacity to fine tune it.