More Control Over Filters

We love Photoshop’s Fade command (which acts like an “undo on a slider”), and when it comes to applying filters, we use it all the time to gain more control (including blending mode control) over filters we apply. The only downside to the Fade command (which is found under the Edit menu) is you can only use it one time—you get one opportunity to Fade, or choose a Blend Mode, then you’re stuck. Here’s a tip to keep the control of your filters for as long as you’d like: When you’re about to apply a filter, make a duplicate of the layer before you apply the filter by pressing Command-J (PC: Control-J) and then apply the filter. This keeps the application of your filter fully editable—you can change blend modes as often as you like, change opacity, add a layer mask to determine where the filter shows and where it doesn’t, or even toss the layer in the Trash and start all over.