Please forgive me if I'm missing something in the videos, etc but I haven't been able to find what I'm looking for. I'm new to Affinity Photo (on my 12" iPad Pro), and am looking to accomplish something I'm used to doing in Photoshop. Specifically, in my workflow it's common for me to stack two images, create a layer mask on the top one, then use a brush to add the lower image but not 100%. The brush in Photoshop would typically be set at 30% with a soft edge so that the additions are not all one layer of the other, but really a blend of the two. Using a brush to accomplish this is nice because it lets me build up some areas while leaving others untouched.
I've tried the same technique in Affinity, but masking seems to be an all or nothing thing here. Either an element is masked or it's not. An example of the style I’m looking for would be Procreate’s layer mask functionality. There I can use a brush set at 30% opacity and brush in what I want. However, I’d rather do it all in Affinity. For the record, if you are familiar with Trey Ratcliff's HDR tutorials, this is the technique he walks people through. I'm trying to replicate it in Affinity. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!