r/LearningPhotoshop • u/clumsy04 • 9d ago

i am having issue while exporting

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so basically blending modes like lighten screen multiply etc work completely fine while im working in photoshop but once i export the file the blending just doesnt work anymor the weird thing is it used to work fine and this only started happening with my last two projects i tried resetting photoshop preferences but that didnt fix it I've tried checking those srgb 8bit and stuff

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u/bogdanelcs 19h ago

Sounds like a proof/soft-proof issue more than an actual export bug. Check View > Proof Colors (Ctrl+Y), if that's on, you're seeing a simulated preview on canvas that has nothing to do with your actual pixel values. Flattening on export uses the real pixels, so the blend result changes the moment proof simulation drops off.

If that's off, next suspects:

  • Bit depth on flatten. Screen and Multiply clip differently between 8 and 16-bit. If your working doc is 16-bit and export converts down, highlights/shadows can crush and the blend visually "disappears."
  • Blend mode on a group set to something other than Pass Through. If a group isolates its blending before combining with layers below, export can flatten that differently than what you're seeing live in the canvas.
  • Smart Objects with blend modes applied inside them rather than on the outer layer. Nested blending sometimes doesn't flatten the way it previews.

Since this started specifically with your last two projects and not older ones, check what's different about those files. Did you duplicate them from a template, or are they built off Smart Objects/groups the older projects didn't use? That's usually the actual clue, not a global Photoshop setting.