PS not saving dissolve blend mode correctly.

[defaulta35wjm9mfxib]

I have used blend modes seamlessly on my images. No problems saving any of them, ever.  I had a new project and used "dissolve mode".  This put a snow effect on my trees and it is valuable for my work! 

It has stopped saving correctly.  It is the only blend mode that isn't saving correctly

It does not save as shown in the PS working document. It is lighter and smoother. It doesn't look anything like the processed image. This is the only blend mode that does this. It does not matter if I save in Jpeg or Tiff.  I used Save As and Export, same results. 

I am attaching an image.  The left is the working doc in PS. On the right side is the saved image.  . It is just very different.  

Windows 10 - Version: 10 10.0.19043.1586   

Adobe Photoshop Version: 23.2.2 20220304.r.325 49bf0ec x64

[Stephen_A_Marsh]

Evaluate both images at 100% view (1:1, where one image pixel = one monitor/screen pixel).

[defaulta35wjm9mfxib]

[davescm]

Your screenshots are not at 100%. The Photoshop view is at 18% zoom. That involves interpolation of pixels before blending to create the screen preview. With fine noise, such as that created by dissolve, evaluate at 100% zoom which uses 1 screen pixel for 1 image pixel - no interpolation.

Dave

[defaulta35wjm9mfxib]

 Hmmmm.   It looks the same zoomed-in. Zoom in, annnd, am I looking for something or doing something??  Dissolve is there and dark in PS.  I don't get what you are saying.  "interpolation" what is this and what does it mean to mean in this situation? When I export I have the expectation that it will look how it is in PS, if not what is the point of editing?  When I do this, mine is significantly lighter after export. Why?  My issue is export/save.  I want it to be dark like it is in PS.  It looks very different when saved or exported. How do I get it to look the saved image to look like the work I did in PS?  Thanks!!  🙂   

So the Car image below (from Adorama) the dissolve border is black, mine is black UNTIL I export/save, from there it turns lighter grey.  

Photo credit Adorama.

[davescm]

To display fine noise on your screen you need to see every image pixel. The only view that does that, in any image viewer, is a zoom that directly maps one image pixel onto one screen pixel.  When you zoom out, several image pixels are combined together and the resulting value is displayed by one screen pixel. That combining of pixels can be done differently in different viewers, hence both need to be viewed at that 1 to 1 mapping which in Photoshop is called 100% zoom.

There is another reason. When viewed at 100% each image pixel is a blend of the equivalent pixel on every layer. However, when zoomed out each layers pixels are combined within the layer then blended with the same combination below. So at 25% zoom, 16 pixels are combined together then blended with a combination of 16 pixels on the layer below before displaying the result as one pixel. In addition, at view levels less than 66.7% 8 bits/channel are used for blending the preview - even on 16 bit images. This can alter the preview of fine noise dramatically.

Hence the advice to compare any changes with Photoshop at 100% zoom and any image viewer at the equivalent level (whatever that viewer labels it).

One more item to watch out for. If you are exporting to a format that uses lossy compression, e.g. jpeg, make sure you are using a high enough quality setting to preserve the fine detail in the noise.

Dave