How to do EXPOSURE BLENDING in Photoshop

Learn how to blend different exposures with the apply mask tool in Photoshop!

You can follow along this Photoshop Tutorial by downloading the raw files here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folder...

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0:00 Intro
For this shot I wanted to have all the details in the highlights and shadows available. Since the contrast of the scene was quite heavy with dark shadows and super bright highlights, getting all the details from a single photo doesn’t make much sense. To counter that I did some basic exposure blending with Photoshops Apply Mask tool. Before that however, I first worked on the raw adjustments.

0:50 1. Basic Adjustments
For this image I had three different exposures (one for the shadows, one for the highlights and a “base” exposure). I started the raw adjustments o the base exposure and later synchronized the settings with the other two raw files.

I started by changing the profile to Adobe Landscape for a bit more saturation. Then, I adjusted the white balance making the image slightly colder. Since I’m going to blend different images, I don’t bother changing the exposure settings. However, I did add some texture, clarity and vibrance to get a sharp, saturated look.

1:48 2. Masking
I used a simply radial gradient over the boardwalk to add some more texture and clarity

2:13 3. Color Grading
I brought down the yellow saturation, while increasing green and blue. Then, in the calibration panel, I brought down the blue primary hue and raised the saturation.

3:08 4. Exposure Blending
To do the exposure blending, I placed the brightest photo at the bottom, then the base exposure and then the darkest shot for the shadows on top. For this you want to disable the top two layers and add a layer mask on both of them. Starting with the base exposure, I selected the layer mask, then went to the image menu (at the very top) and chose apply image. Without adjusting the settings just hit ok and enable the base-layer again. This way, you can easily blend different exposures, however you might need to further adjust the layer mask to get the desired look in the end!

To finish this, I added a bit of Orthon glow just over the highlights, and then some more contrast using a levels adjustment layer.

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