Images: blending modes

Two types of blending modes are offered - Image blend and Canvas blend. Using these tools can eliminate the need to edit your photos in an external app since you can apply effects non-destructively to the photos as they appear on your canvas.

• Image blend will affect the selected image frame, acting as if the image was interacting with a copy of itself. Use Image blend to darken, lighten, play with contrast, or achieve other effects without interacting with the image content behind the selected image. 
• Canvas blend affects the selected image by causing it to interact with the layer below it. This includes the canvas and other images underneath the selected image. Use Canvas blend to create an interaction between the top image and what is underneath it. 

Image blend is located under Image Effects on the Layout, Page and Portrait Template Editors. Click on More Options, and scroll to the bottom of the list to find it.

Select an effect, and use the Mix to determine its level of intensity on your image.

Canvas blend is available under the General settings options. Click on the down arrow to select your choice of effects.

Blending modes can be arranged into seven different categories:

• Darken modes:  Darken, multiply, color burn, linear burn, darker color
• Lighten modes: Lighten, screen, color dodge, linear dodge, lighter color
• Contrast modes: Overlay, soft light, hard light, vivid light, linear light, pin light, hard mix
• Comparative modes: Difference, exclusion
• Color/tint modes: Hue, saturation, color, luminosity
• Calculation modes: Average, add, subtract, negation, divide
• Creative modes: Reflect, phoenix, glow

Each category indicates how the top layer of the selection will interact with the bottom layer. For instance, in Darken modes, a comparison between dark and light pixels is made, and then a particular calculation is applied to determine how differences in the pixels (relative to color channels, contrasting edges, etc) will be displayed. 

For detailed information on how blending modes work, consult the following useful online article.