Blending two images together using Paint Shop Pro

Presented by Pixalo - Submitted by Silkstone

Here is an excellent tutorial on how to blend two images together using Paint Shop Pro, this can be used to overcome blown out skys or lost shadow detail. Once you have mastered the basic technique it can be performed in just a few minutes.

We'll start with two images - one exposed for the foreground, and one for the sky...

1. Open the darker image. 'Edit'>'Copy' and then close it. You won't need it again.
2. Open the lighter image. 'Edit' > 'Paste'... Paste as New Layer>. This will create a new layer visible on the Layers Palette as 'Raster 1'.
3. The 'Raster 1' layer should already be highlighted - make sure it is. Then click on the 'Mask Show All' icon at the top of the palette, which will create a new mask layer and symbol in the same thread as 'Raster 1'.
4. Click on the Background Layer, and then press CTRL+A CTRL+C to select all and copy the layer.
5. Now click on the Mask Layer, and then 'Edit' > 'Paste' ... Paste Into Selection.
6. That's it, done! All that remains is to right-click on any layer in the Layers Pallette and select 'Merge'... 'Merge All' to merge all the layers for the final image.

The result should be something like....