How To Use In-Camera Blend Modes For Multiple Exposure Photography (Pt IV: Darken Mode)

In previous posts, I described the use of the Average and Additive blend modes for multiple exposure photography. I noted that these modes emulate the type of multiple exposure results typically seen in film photography. I also explained the use of the Lighten mode, which is a mode that didn’t exist (at least not in-camera) in the film era and which opens up many creative options.

Today, we will examine the last of the four common in-camera blend modes for making multiple exposures: Darken mode. If you guessed that Darken mode works in exactly the opposite way that Lighten mode does, you would be pretty close to correct. There are just a couple of caveats.

In Darken mode, as each component image of a multiple exposure is stacked atop each other, the camera software looks at each pixel location in the stack. According to Adobe, in the Darken blend mode the computer “Looks at the color information in each channel and selects the base or blend color—whichever is darker—as the result color. Pixels lighter than the blend color are replaced, and pixels darker than the blend color do not change.” The in-camera Darken blend mode works essentially the same way as Adobe describes (though each manufacturer that offers this mode sometimes adds a little ‘secret sauce’ to tweak the algorithm).

An important result of this mathematical algorithm is that if you stack a dark pixel atop a lighter one, the lighter one will disappear and the darker one will show through. Likewise, if you stack a lighter pixel atop a darker one, the lighter one still disappears. Similar to using Lighten mode, there will also be odd color shifts with changes in white balance. (Please note that I have edited the Lighten mode post to more clearly indicate that there were white balance changes). But there is a difference, and it involves that caveat I mentioned. The Lighten blend mode tends to produce warm color shifts consisting of yellow and magenta hues with changes in white balance, while the Darken blend mode produces cool color shifts consisting of green and blue/purple hues, as seen below.

In reality, the door in the image below is pure white and the surrounding wall is neutral gray. So how did all the colors arise? The white balance was changed between shots which results in marked color shifts when using Darken (and Lighten) mode. I don’t understand the math in this (though I suspect it has something to do with looking at the color information in each channel), but what is clear is that Darken mode causes cool color shifts with resultant blues, purples and greens. While there are some yellows, the overall effect is quite different from photographing the same door in Lighten mode with similar white balance shifts. Lighten mode causes warmer color shifts.

Multiple exposure of white door with gray wall with white balance changes between the individual photos using the in-camera Darken blend mode.

© Howard Grill

Multiple exposure of white door with gray wall with white balance changes between the individual photos using the in-camera Lighten blend mode.

© Howard Grill

Do I like the colors in either photo? NO! Does that matter? NO! Why doesn’t it matter?

It doesn’t matter because I wasn’t trying to generate final colors, I was just trying to generate colors and separate them in the image. Now, I have multiple separate colors in the photo, while before, I only had white and neutral gray. Had there been more colors in the original scene, I would have even more colors than I do now.

Once I have generated multiple colors, I can push those colors further apart, closer together, or completely change them using the HSL Sliders in Lightroom or any of several Photoshop tools. There are now six or seven discreet colors/tones on the door and, while I might not want any color changes on a photo of just a door, I might well like to produce varied colors in an abstract, as seen below. The Darken blend mode gives you excellent raw material that serves as a starting point onto which you can imprint your own vision and creativity.

Multiple exposure made using the Darken mode with white balance changes made for each exposure. Further enhancements were then made in Photoshop.

© Howard Grill

Here are several useful tips to help you get started experimenting with the Darken blend mode:

• Set your exposure compensation to overexpose each component image. Remember that with each exposure you are replacing lighter pixels with darker ones. This means that the composite image will rapidly get darker (risking underexposure). By overexposing, you allow the darker pixels to add up more slowly (because they aren’t as dark as they would be if the component photos were normally exposed), giving you a normal final exposure. Overexpose by how much? That’s something I can’t tell you, because it depends on the tonal values of what you are photographing to start with and how many dark pixels there are in each layer (ie, if you shoot 5 images of a white wall nothing changes, as there are no ‘darker’ pixels added). If your camera allows you to see the composite histogram after each image is added (the Canon R5 does), you will have a great idea of where your exposure stands at any point in the process.

• Recognize in your mind that whatever you photograph that is darker will ’cut into’ and replace the lighter pixels that are in your image thus far. For example, a bright sky will be replaced by anything darker that overlays it.

• Similar to using the Additive mode, you can control how much of each component image shows through by adjusting your exposure compensation for any of the component photos. Since the mode is Darken, the more negative exposure compensation you give any of the individual component photos, the more it will contribute to the final composite (since you are making that photo darker in comparison to the others). This can be visualized if your camera is one that allows you to see the image ‘thus far’ after each component shot. The Canon R5 actually allows you to see it before the shot is taken, by pressing the DOF preview button.

• As noted above, changing the white balance between shooting the component images can lead to some very interesting results, as well as generating more colors for you to alter any way you like in Lightroom and Photoshop.

The first time I photographed using the Darken mode, I was totally confused and had no idea what was going on. The best way to get a feel for working in the Darken mode is to get out and make some multiple exposures using it, while trying to predict what each exposure will do to the final composite.

I hope this information helps you understand how to use the Darken in-camera blend mode when making multiple exposures. It is confusing at first, but it really opens up a whole new creative avenue!

And thus ends my trip through the four in-camera multiple exposure blend modes. I do hope it was useful information and that it encourages you to try making some multiple exposure abstracts!

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