Using Fade effect

[jbruceb]

I have tried Richard's impressive new tools, but I can't seem to make Fade effect do anything special. As Richard suggested this is used in Photoshop after a filter to lessen its effects. By varying the opacity of the Fade effect layer this works, but it doesn't seem to be any different than the effect achieved by duplicating the original layer; applying a filter, and then varying the opacity of the duplicate layer.
Would someone with experience in Photoshop please point out what I am missing?
Thanks,

[Richard_Lynch]

You aren't missing much. The Fade effect is just another of the simple effects in Photoshop that people using Elements really think they need to upgrade for. Fade is actually provided in Photoshop as a stand-alone function. It isn't hard to replicate, as you see by examining the steps. The one thing the fade in PS FAILS to do is that it will not fade your last step...In my humble opinion, it is implemented incorrectly as it should fade EVERYTHING, just like this easy tool allows.

Nearly every advanced tool that Photoshop has is just a more complicated application of simple tools. What I provide with Hidden Power is the mechanism to use those more complicated behaviors. Not all of them are a fireworks show. One of the most popular tools in this latest set is, however, fade...no matter how simple.

What is it good for? Some people like to use it for such things as soft-focus effects.

As a tool, it saves a few steps and makes blend manipulations possible. for example, say you apply a general gaussian blur and realize you'd rather just blur the color. Click Fade, change the mode to color, and you are done. This is instead of Undo, Duplicate, change mode, blur.

Every tool will not afford an advantage to the way you work.

[jbruceb]

Thanks for the quick reply, Richard. Your example of blurring just the color really explains it.
By the way, I saw in a newsletter that you are writing a featured article (series?) for a new English digital photograpy magazine with a first issue in August. I know that you will be a big hit, or Bob's your uncle!

[MLP]

How is this different from applying the filter to a duplicate layer
and changing the blending mode and or opacity? Seems like you would have more flexibility with a duplicate layer. I agree that the PS fade really doesn't do that much.

Michael

[pmarchant]

Michael,

there's no difference! Because that's essentially what Richard's Fade does. With the HP Fade you get a duplicate of the filter (or whatever) applied layer, and the layer to be faded has the filter effect undone.

Paul.

[Richard_Lynch]

Michael,

The Fade function doesn't do that much, but there wasn't one in Elements, so i introduced it with the free tools. You are right that the layered fade has more potential than Photoshop's -- it is, indeed, more flexible. Paul is right (batting 1000!), that is all my Fade does...but for those looking for Fade for whatever reason -- they no longer have to go to Photoshop to get it.

[pmarchant]

I find I'm tending to use the HP Fade as a sort of "snapshot" tool. I'll apply a filter (e.g USM) and then think to myself "is that right?". Clicking Fade gives me the original layer back as well as a filtered layer. That way I can apply the filter again but with different settings, and then toggle the visibility to compare the two filter results. You can of course keep using Fade to save more "snapshots".

Of course you could use duplicate layer before applying the filter initially, but often I haven't done that!

Paul.