Layers Of Photoshop Fun

The past few days have been unseasonably warm, with temperatures soaring near ONE HUNDRED! So this past weekend, except for a quick trip to the grocery stores, I stayed in my little abode with the AC cranked up high. I watched way too much television, played way too long on the Mac, and, in general, wasted time away. (Hope you too are staying cool in this sweltering heat!)

Among many other things I did to keep my mind occupied, I went through some photos taken recently of Pargo and edited them. I used Layer Blending Modes (directions follow), a very simple function to help enhancing the photographs. It’s really easy and it resulted in photos that have more vivid colors and contrast.

Before:

After:

Instructions:

1) Open up your photo. In the Layers Option Palette, there should only be one layer, “Background”.

Right click on the “Background” layer and select “Duplicate Layer”.

A Duplicate Layer Dialogue Box should appear. You can name the layer, or just click OK.

2) De-select the original layer and with the new layer selected, click on the Layer Blending Modes drop down menu, shown below. Select “Overlay” and see what this effect has on your image.

Also on the same palette, I usually change the “Opacity” to 50%, but that’s up to you and the image. To finish editing, make sure both the original layer and the duplicated layer are selected.

AND YOU’RE DONE! Layers are REALLY cool and powerful feature of Photoshop. Try experimenting with the other blending modes, and see what effect it has on the image! Have fun!