Schematic view of the expected effect of CMOD on photometric determinations of the stellar mass of the bulge M_⋆, B. The black curve shows the cumulative fraction of M_⋆, B as a function of lookback time, whereas solid blue and magenta curves the values expected from image decomposition in the V and H band for purely stellar galaxy models (cf. Fig. 2). The orange-dashed curve qualitatively delineates the additional effect that massive SF clumps forming out of VDIs could have on M_⋆, B determinations: in redshift intervals where strong emission lines fall within the H filter transmission curve (e.g., at z = 1.5 in the case of Hα+[N II]; gray-shaded areas) the surface brightness in the disk periphery is differentially enhanced relative to that in the SF-quenched galaxy center. One consequence of this is the over-subtraction of the disk from the galaxy, leading to the under-estimation of the net luminosity (and M_⋆, B) of the bulge (P22). This would translate to a flattening of the M_⋆, B growth curve in discrete z intervals, possibly prompting the conclusion that bulge formation proceeds in major waves (cf. Sect. 2.2 and Fig. A.8).