What blending mode imitates sandwiching negatives?

<p>In Photoshop (I'm using CS5),<br>

what blending mode imitates sandwiching negatives?<br>

I'm working with color files,<br>

and I have sandwiched color negatives before,<br>

but I just can't figure this one out.<br>

Or, is it different for different images?<br>

My guess is Overlay...</p>

<p>Multiply Blend mode is the closest which mimics the physical stacking of transparency film no matter the level of tonality.</p>

<p>Multiply may look dark but that's exactly what happens when viewing stacks of film on top of a light table. You can always adjust opacity for each layer if need be. Also you can try linearly lighten each layer proportionately which Screen blend does as well as Levels or Curves adjustment. The key here is to mimic the effects of real light shining through film.</p>

<p>I remember in old versions of Photoshop the capability of making the layers look transparent without making them dark but it required a specific file format and bit depth=(1 bit B&W graphic elements) on top of some other technical steps I now can't recall.</p>

Different images may need different blending modes .dont forget that you can also add a mask. Don't forget that's mask

can be a a shade of neutral gray not just black or white. Using an intermediate shade of gray in a mask is sort of like

adjusting the opacity of just the mask.

<p>Dave, if, by some chance, you want to simulate sandwiching negs simply to produce a composite out of two or more images, I hope you realize that these days, there are much better ways to do so, e.g., layer masks.</p>

<p>Tom M</p>