The Layer Effect

This month we are looking at the "layer effect" as I have called it. Layers are a very useful way to adjust something without actually changing anything. You can change blend modes, add filters and generally stack your layers on top of each other as you do your pancakes! To show you an example, take this photo.

I want to spice this photo up a little to make it pop! I made a duplicate layer through the Layer Palette Menu (or you can do this by right clicking on the photo layer and selecting create duplicate). I chose Hard Light on the blend mode for this layer, which has the effect of multiplying dark colors and highlighting lighter colors.

This is starting to have the effect I want, but I think making things a little sharper will help. To do this I created another duplicate of the original layer and used the Filter Menu, selecting Other and then High Pass. This filter gives your images a sharper and more defined look, but take care with the slider setting, else you will end up with an "aura" around some of your pixels!