Can You Change The Layer Of Overlays Already In Backgrounds

After you've mastered layers and layer masking, learning how to add an overlay in Photoshop is a fun way to add a piddling something extra to your photographs and turn them from awesome to amazing. There are tons of overlays to choose from, and these tools will assistance you with most of them. However, if you are using a sky overlay, in that location is a more efficient sky replacement tool built into Photoshop. I've written a tutorial on how to use this role, which you can find here.

Stride One

Start of all, open upward the image you want to edit in Photoshop.

Step TWO

Now, find and drag your overlays into Photoshop and onto your image. It volition look something like this.

STEP THREE

Now we're going to make information technology look less similar a carve up prototype by changing the layer mode in the layers console from Normal to Screen. Consequently, the night parts of the overlay should lighten, or disappear, then you lot get something that looks similar this:

STEP FOUR

Now, place your overlay where you want it on your groundwork epitome. I'm placing this overlay over the sun haze to go along it looking natural. To move your overlay image, make certain you accept the Move tool active. Its the top left button on the tools menu on the left side of the screen. You can also resize past clicking on the dots on the sides and corners while the Movement tool is active.

STEP Five

Now that your overlay is positioned where you want it, we need to bargain with those funky edges. For this, we demand to create a layer mask. With the overlay layer active, click on the layer mask push button on the bottom of the Layers push (a circumvolve within a rectangle).

Y'all should see a white rectangle announced abreast your overlay layer.

STEP SIX

This is the part that gets a little tricky if you are new to layers and masking. Right now, the entire layer is actively shown on your image (represented by the white of the layer mask). The neat part of virtually layer mask editing is that it is not-destructive. Click on the white box to make the layer mask your agile layer.

To erase sections of the layer overlay, simply use your castor tool with the colour black selected.

With the black castor agile, you lot can at present proceed to paint abroad the hard edges of your overlay. I observe information technology helpful to brand my groundwork layer invisible to start, so I can come across the hard lines of the overlay. You can make your background invisible by selecting the middle next to the groundwork layer in the Layers Panel.

Your epitome will now look something like the image below. Yous can at present begin painting away the edges of your layer.

PRO TIP: If your brush has defaulted back to white, as mine has, switch it back to black with the Ten key (with your castor tool active).

Step SEVEN

You tin can see I've painted away the difficult edges. If yous erase too much, simply use your white brush (by hitting X) and paint it back on. Completely not-subversive.

Turn your background layer back on and meet how information technology looks. For instance, here y'all can run into it looks okay on the left, merely the right side isn't blending well because of his dark pants.

I decided to resize the overlay so the lighter edge blends into the sky.

PRO TIP: Play effectually with the castor opacity and flow to alloy your edges.

And that's information technology! A lot of it volition be trial and error, in one case you learn how to employ the tools.

Let'southward try another of adding an overlay in Photoshop. example using dust instead of a sun flare. This time we are going to utilise a more advanced layer masking technique: inverting the mask. It's slightly more complicated, but comes in handy when you don't desire to add an overlay to an entire image. You tin use this for all masking, whether you are using an overlay or an aligning layer. You tin can besides do this without inverting, but you tin save yourself a lot of time if you are merely doing a pocket-size area, such every bit the optics. Instead of erasing with the blackness brush, we are applying our overlay with the white brush.

STEP ONE

I have my prototype open in Photoshop.

I'm going to drag an overlay onto my prototype.

Stride 2

You see there is now another layer in the Layers Console. Modify this layer blend way to Screen.

You'll now see your layer overlay look something like this. The black has disappeared or lightened. You can resize at this point.

I resized my image and added a layer mask like in the start instance. It'southward the box with the circle within information technology at the bottom of the layers panel. Which will create a layer mask (that white box) next to your active layer (brand sure yous take your overlay layer agile).

STEP 3

Next we are going to capsize the layer mask and get in invisible. With your layer mask agile and the white color on your palette, printing CTRL+Delete. Now your layer mask should be black and the overlay has disappeared.

Make certain you accept the LAYER MASK active (there are white brackets around the active layer).

At present, with your white paintbrush, paint in the areas that you lot want to use your overlay. I desire to add a niggling floating grit to the dominicus haze surface area (where dust would naturally catch the calorie-free).

TIP: Make your brush larger or smaller using the bracket keys on your keyboard.