Knowing how to fade part of an image in Photoshop is essential when creating photo manipulations. Blending things together can be done by changing the opacity of selected areas in Photoshop. This tutorial shows you in 4 easy steps how to change the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop. Apart from changing the opacity, you’ll also learn how to add a transparent color layer in Photoshop and how to color a specific part of a photo in Photoshop!
How do I change the opacity of a selected area in Photoshop?
Photoshop’s opacity setting is a great and easy way to adjust the transparency of an image. You can either make the entire image transparent, or just make a certain part of the image transparent. It’s totally up to you.
Making an image – or parts of an image – transparent – gives you endless possibilities to combine different layers and create new and stunning photo effects. You can place another image or text on top or have a different image shine through from beneath.
If you’re into digital art or photo manipulations, you might want to create imaginary and mysterious scenes where things overlap and blend into one another.
This is all possible by editing part of an image in Photoshop. But how exactly do you fade part of an image in Photoshop? This is exactly what I’ll be showing you in this tutorial!
I’ll be using Photoshop CS6, but it works the same way with any recent version, like Photoshop 2020, 2019, and earlier.
Changing the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop is very easy. These are the 4 steps you'll need to follow:
How to change the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop
For this tutorial, I’ll be working with two images. One is a beautiful foggy meadow background from Sugary Stock on DeviantArt. The other one is a golden frame from Stock by Maria Murphy Art on DeviantArt.
To show you how to make part of an image transparent in Photoshop, I’m going to place the golden frame on top of the meadow background. To preserve the mysterious atmosphere, I want the upper part of the frame to be less transparent so it blends nicely with the fog below.
OK, so let’s get started and see how to make part of the object transparent in Photoshop with just four simple steps!
STEP 1: Select the part of the image to change in opacity
First of all, you need to select the part of the image that you want to make less opaque. I’m using the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select the upper part of the frame.
Depending on the shape of the image that you want to select, you can also use the Elliptical Marquee Tool or one of Photoshop’s Lasso Tools.
STEP 2: Add a layer mask to the selection
Next, you want to add a layer mask that hides the selected part of the image. In the top menu bar, go to Layer > Layer Mask and choose Hide Selection.
The selected part of your image will now be filled with black on the layer mask and not be visible anymore, meaning it will be fully transparent.
STEP 3: Adjust the density of the layer mask
As you don’t want the part of your image to be fully transparent, you now need to adjust the opacity of the layer mask.
Photoshop offers you a very simple and straightforward way to do that.
Once you’ve selected the layer mask in your Layers Panel, you’ll be able to see the Properties window of the layer mask. If you cannot see it, go to Window in the top menu bar and make sure that Properties is ticked.
In the Properties window, you’ll find the Density slider. Moving the slider down to the left will decrease the opacity of the layer mask and gradually reveal the masked part of your image.
As you move the slider further to the left, you’ll see the black on your layer mask become more gray, and the selected part of your image become more opaque.
Play around with the Density until you like the result.
STEP 4: Fine-tune the layer mask
Once you’ve set the opacity of part of your image to your liking, you’ll quickly notice that the edges are still pretty harsh.
To soften the edges, you can move up the Feather slider in the Properties window. The more you increase the Feather value, the more blurred the mask becomes.
Alternatively, you can also add a nice amount of blur to the mask by going to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur in the top menu bar.
To fine-tune the mask even more, you can paint with a black brush on the layer mask. This will allow you to create more subtle transitions between different degrees of opacity.
As for the image right here, I could also use the black brush to make the bottom edges of the frame less opaque, so they would blend in better with the grass beneath.
However, keep in mind that you’ll be working on a layer mask that has already been reduced in opacity. When painting with a brush on the mask, you probably need to bump up the opacity of the brush more than usual in order to achieve the desired result.
If you’re wondering how to change the opacity of a brush in Photoshop – it’s very easy.
Once you’ve selected the brush tool, you’ll see several brush settings in the top bar. One of them is Opacity. Simply move the Opacity slider up or down to give your brush the opacity that is needed.
Also make sure that Flow is at 100%.
… and here you go! You’ve just learned how to change the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop!
How to add a transparent color layer in Photoshop
After showing you how to change the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop, I want to show you two more things: how to add a transparent color layer in Photoshop and how to color a specific part of a photo in Photoshop.
A look at my Layers Panel might already have told you that I’ve added two more layers. One is a semi-transparent color adjustment layer at the very top that changes the overall feel of the image.
The second one is a color adjustment layer that only changes the color of a specific part of my photo, in this case the frame.
Adding a transparent color layer in Photoshop is simple. All you need to do is select a new Solid Color Fill Layer from the top menu bar (Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color).
Once you see the adjustment layer on your Layers Panel, you can change color, Blending Mode and Opacity.
I’ve set my Solid Color Adjustment Layer to Soft Light and reduced the opacity to around 60%. That makes the color layer almost transparent but still preserves enough hue to change the look of the image.
Other Blending Modes that tend to give nice color effects are Overlay and Vivid Light.
Related: → How To Use Blending Modes In Photoshop – (With Blend Modes Cheat Sheet!)
How to color a specific part of a photo in Photoshop
The second Solid Color Adjustment Layer that I’m using only colors a specific part of my image, the golden frame.
I’ve added the color layer just like before. Only this time, I’ve created a clipping mask with the layer below.
To create a clipping mask, simply click on the far right of the layer in your Layers Panel and select Create Clipping Mask from the pop-up menu.
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I hope that this tutorial on how to change the opacity of part of an image in Photoshop was helpful. If you found any value in it, please feel free to share it with other artists so they can also learn from it!
If you are using anything of what I’ve showed you in this post, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @ginangiela, or post a link here in the comments. I’d love to see your creations! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new Photoshop tutorials, perks for subscribers and other cool stuff. ♥
