Changing Image Opacity in Photoshop

There are times when you need to ghost back an image so that text can be read when placed on top of it or perhaps even another image can be seen below it. Reducing the opacity moves the image in a 2-dimensional space to the middle-ground or background. It also increases the transparency and enables us to see what lies underneath. There are a couple of simple ways to reduce opacity in Photoshop and the steps are outlined below.

Option #1 – Opacity Setting

1. Open the file in Photoshop. Make sure your layers panel is open. If there is a single layer, it will be locked and named “background”.
2. Unlock the background layer by double-clicking it, so that you can edit it. Its name will change to “Layer 0”.
3. Add a new layer below the unlocked background layer, and name it “bkg”. Fill it with white. This will help you see the results of reducing the opacity.
4. Select “Layer 0” (or the layer with the image you want to change).
5. The default Opacity setting is 100%. Move the Opacity slider left (or type in the new percentage) until you get the results you like. My general guide is to start anywhere from 12 to 20%.
6. Before saving, hide the visibility of the bottom white bkg layer (click the eye icon to hide).
7. For Web files: FILE > EXPORT > SAVE FOR WEB (legacy) – gives you many more options for an optimized web-ready image.
   Choose the Preset: PNG-24 for images with transparency selected.
8. For Print files: FILE > SAVE AS…  Choose the Format: Photoshop (layered PSD) or TIFF with no compression and transparency selected.

Option #2 – Levels Setting

1. Open the file in Photoshop. Make sure your layers panel is open. If there is a single layer, it will be locked and named “background”.
2. Unlock the background layer by double-clicking it, so that you can edit it. Its name will change to “Layer 0”.
3. Add a new layer below the unlocked background layer, and name it “bkg”. Fill it with white. This will help you see the results of reducing the opacity.
4. Select “Layer 0” (or the layer with the image you want to change).
5. LAYER > NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER > LEVELS. Move the bottom slider (Output levels) to the right until you get the results you like. My general guide for the output levels is anywhere between 100-200.
6. If you want to change a color image to black and white (grayscale), adjustment layers are a great tool. You can toggle the layer on and off, whereas changing the Image Mode to Grayscale is a more permanent solution. Give it a try: LAYER > NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER > BLACK AND WHITE.
7. Before saving, hide the visibility of the bottom white bkg layer (click the eye icon to hide).
8. For Web files: FILE > EXPORT > SAVE FOR WEB (legacy) – gives you many more options for an optimized web-ready image.
   Choose the Preset: PNG-24 for images with transparency selected.
9. For Print files: FILE > SAVE AS…  Choose the Format: Photoshop (layered PSD) or TIFF with no compression and transparency selected.

Video Tutorial

If you prefer, you can watch the video tutorial I made that shows you how to change the opacity of an image in Photoshop:
VIEW VIDEO!

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