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  "title" : "overlayBlendMode()"
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# overlayBlendMode()

Blends colors by overlaying images.

```
class func overlayBlendMode() -> any CIFilter & CICompositeOperation
```

## Return Value

The modified image.

## Discussion

This method applies the overlay-blend mode filter to an image. The effect creates the output image by overlapping the input image over the background image while preserving highlights and shadows of the background image.

The overlay-blend mode filter uses the following properties:

- `inputImage`: An image with the type [`CIImage`](/documentation/CoreImage/CIImage).
- `backgroundImage`: An image with the type [`CIImage`](/documentation/CoreImage/CIImage).

The following code creates a filter that results in the background image becoming darker with the input image overlaid on top:

```swift
func overlayBlendMode(inputImage: CIImage, backgroundImage: CIImage) -> CIImage {
    let colorBlendFilter = CIFilter.overlayBlendMode()
    colorBlendFilter.inputImage = inputImage
    colorBlendFilter.backgroundImage = backgroundImage
    return colorBlendFilter.outputImage!
}
```

![The image on the top left shows a beach with multiple palm trees and a rainbow arching across the blue sky.  The image below is a gradient image displaying a gradual color shift from purple to a dark orange. The image on the right shows the output from applying an overlay-blend-mode filter. The result displays a darker beach rainbow image with the gradient image overlaid on top.](images/com.apple.coreimage/media-3546406@2x.png)

---

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