How do I blend two exposures in Photoshop based on brightness?
Asked 10/14/2010
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2 answers
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I have two photos of the same scene: one normal exposure and one darker exposure. I want the brighter areas of the normal image to be replaced with the corresponding areas from the darker image, ideally based on brightness rather than manually selecting and deleting parts of the image. Is there a non-destructive way to do this in Photoshop?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
4
What you can use is layer mask. Basically, you create a copy of the layer, use Threshold tool (or curves or whatever you want) to make the copy white when you want top level to be visible and black when you want iot to be transparent, and then use that as mask for the top layer.
Originally by user112. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user112
16y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The usual non-destructive way is to stack the two exposures as layers and use a layer mask.
Put the normal and darker images in the same document, with the normal shot on top. Add a mask to the top layer. In Photoshop, white on the mask keeps the top layer visible; black reveals the layer underneath; gray gives partial blending.
To target bright areas, you can build the mask from brightness: make a copy or adjustment, then use Threshold, Curves, or similar to turn the areas you want into a black/white mask, and apply that as the layer mask. You can then refine it by painting on the mask with a soft brush for smoother transitions.
This is better than selecting and deleting because it’s reversible and easy to fine-tune.
If you want Photoshop to automate the blend, you can also try File > Automate > Merge to HDR. That can work well for combining exposures, though manual masking gives you more control over exactly which bright areas are replaced.
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