You have seen photo underlays many times. Quite simply, a photo underlay is placing a photograph, usually lightened, beneath text or a combination of text and graphics to provide a custom design. You can use this technique for your own stationary, for newsletter pages or virtually any print design project. You also can use it on your website to provide a theme. Although you can create a photo underlay in a desktop publishing or word processing application, the best place to start for good control is in a photo-editing software package.
Instructions
1. Select the photograph you want to use as the underlay for your project. Do not choose a "busy" photo, the type of photo that has a lot going on in it. This will distract from the top layer you will place over the photo. If you intend to put text over the photo, especially, choose a simple photo that will not make it difficult to read the text.
2. Adjust the colors and tone of your photo as you normally would if you were going to print it by itself. Use the "Enhance" menu in Photoshop Elements, specifically the "Levels" subsub menu under "Adjust Lighting." In Photoshop, "Levels" is under "Adjustments" in the "Image" menu.
3. Move to the "Layer" menu and click "New" and then "Layer From Background." Click the "OK" button after naming the layer. In Photoshop, go to the "Window" menu and click "Layers" to get the layer palette. This automatically is displayed in Elements.
4. Change the "Opacity" level in the "Layers" palette---in the upper right--- to approximately 30 percent. You may need a different percentage based upon the photo you will use as an underlay. The 30 percent is a good starting number.
5. Move to the "Layer" menu again and click "New" and "New Layer." Add your text or other information in this layer. To test how it will look in the final stage, go to the "Layer" menu and click "Flatten Image." If the photo underlay is not quite what you want, go to the "Edit" menu and click "Undo" or "Step Backward." Then go to the "Layer" palette, select the image layer and adjust the "Opacity" accordingly.
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