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Photo Veils are a great way to add some pizzazz to your photos without a lot of time in Photoshop. There are so many different things you can do with them. All you need is a couple minutes and some creativity!
These instructions will work in both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. You should have a tip sheet that was included with your Photo Veils that will explain how to apply the Photo Veils to your photos. If you are not sure how to apply a Photo Veil, refer to the tip sheet.
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Let’s Get Started!
1. First, open your photo into Photoshop or Elements. Have your folder of Photo Veils opened and ready to select from. Choose a Photo Veil and add it to your photo as explained in the tip sheet. Make sure you have your Photo Veil layer on top of your photo layer, like this:
2. Now for the fun! Photo Veils utilize Blending Modes and Opacity to get the different effects on your photos. The possibilities are endless! Experiment with lots of combinations to get just the right look.
3. Here, I'm going to show you several examples where I've used Photo Veils. Let's start with some simple ones! I used one Photo Veil on this photo just to give it a little bit of warmth and to enhance the colors.
Remember Me | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 100% opacity
4. I used Forest Lullaby from the Christmas Gift Set you received on this landscape. I just wanted a little bit of a boost to the colors and this one was perfect. Start to finish, this photo took only about 30 seconds!
The more neutral colored Veils are perfect for adding an overall boost to your photos. They don't add much of a color overlay, but are wonderful for making colors bolder and brighter.
Forest Lullaby | Christmas Gift Set | Soft Light blending mode | 75% opacity
5. The neutral colored Veils are also great for toning down very bright colors, like pinks and reds. In this photo, the pinks are almost blown and they are a bit too bright! I applied Lychee with the Hue Blending Mode. At first, this is going to do some crazy things with your photo! Don't worry though, all you need to do is adjust the Opacity down very low to where your colors look normal. Using the Hue Blending Mode will allow the pinks to be toned down while keeping the rest of the colors the same.
Lychee | Botanical Collection | Hue blending mode | 15% opacity
6. This next technique is quickly becoming one of my favorites! There are three Photo Veils that work great with this: Lemongrass, Honey Wheat and Wheatgrass (all from The Botanical Collection). When used with the Hard Light Blending Mode, they create rays of light as in this example. Aren't they so fun? Adjust the Opacity to where the Veil is not overpowering your photo.
Honey Wheat | Botanical Collection | Hard Light blending mode | 87% opacity
7. Photo Veils are wonderful for people photos too! I like to start by doing a clean edit on my photo. Photo Veils can easily be applied to non-people photos without doing any additional editing, but I really like to get my people photos looking nice before I apply any Veils. The Veils are the finishing touches to these, for me!
In this first portrait example, I used three Photo Veils: Marigold, Brave, and Serenity. I find that the Soft Light Blending Mode is a great one for when you'd like subtle effects. The Marigold Veil added a touch of warmth while Serenity balanced out the yellows in the green tones. Brave, used with the Overlay Blending Mode, gives a nice contrast boost while darkening the photo just a tiny bit. This allows the beautiful couple to stand out and be the stars of the photo!
Marigold | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 48% opacity
Brave | Simplicity Collection | Overlay blending mode | 20% opacity
Serenity | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 14% opacity
8. In this example, I went subtle like I did above, but with a different little twist. The Remember Me Photo Veil boosted the colors nicely with a bit of a contrast boost, while Privet brightened up the overall image. November Haze is the twist! Used with the Vivid Light Blending Mode, it brightened up the highlights and created a nice warm glow.
Remember Me | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 50% opacity
Privet | Botanical Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 24% opacity
November Haze | Simplicity Collection | Vivid Light blending mode | 6% opacity
9. You can also do some really creative effects with your portraits. In this photo, I wanted to keep the cool colors while toning down some of the contrast. Fairy's Frock set to Screen Blending Mode lightened the contrast a bit. It added a subtle haze to the image as well. Blackberry set to Pin Light Blending Mode changed the tone in the shadows, adding a little hint of purple. Agave set to Multiply Blending Mode toned down the brightness of her skin.
Fairy’s Frock | Simplicity Collection | Screen blending mode | 20% opacity
Blackberry | Simplicity Collection | Pin Light blending mode | 14% opacity
Agave | Botanical Collection | Multiply blending mode | 6% opacity
10. Photo Veils are also fun for creating duotone and vintage effects! This photo of The Stanley Hotel was a perfect model for demonstrating the effect. I first applied Snow Lily with Saturation Blending Mode. This mode removed the color from the photo, taking on the tones of the Photo Veil. Then I applied History on top of Snow Lily. I used Multiply Blending Mode with the Opacity adjusted down to 64%. This allowed some of the black and white layer of the Snow Lily Veil to come through, creating a nice vintage duotone effect.
Snow Lily | Botanical Collection | Saturation blending mode | 100% opacity
History | Simplicity Collection | Multiply blending mode | 64% opacity
11. As a nature photographer, I love using Photo Veils on my photos. They are a quick and easy way to add some neat effects! With nature and flower photos, you can get away with some real creativity. I love to combine several Veils with different blending modes and opacities to create a truly custom look. These last examples all feature flowers and some creative combinations.
If you remember earlier, I mentioned there were three Veils that create rays of light. I used Lemongrass here with Hard Light Blending Mode to create the sunray effect. I adjusted the Opacity down pretty low to make the light rays very subtle. The combination of all four Veils creates a warm glow and brings out the beautiful greens and yellows in the image.
Crepe Myrtle | Botanical Collection | Overlay blending mode | 25% opacity
Lemongrass | Botanical Collection | Hard Light blending mode | 28% opacity
Northern Lights | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 75% opacity
Brave | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 60% opacity
In this example, the Serenity Photo Veil gives a really nice boost to the pinks and purples. They really come alive now! I applied Honey Wheat at a low Opacity to add a touch of warmth.
Serenity | Simplicity Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 50% opacity
Honey Wheat | Botanical Collection | Overlay blending mode | 17% opacity
Here I used Soft Light Blending Mode with all of the Photo Veils. Soft Light mode is usually my go-to blending mode with Veils. It is a great, easy mode to work with. Especially if you're in a hurry! It always gives wonderful results with just about any photo.
White Clover | Botanical Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 29% opacity
Blue Grass | Botanical Collection | Soft Light blending mode 47% opacity
Pomegranate | Botanical Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 10% opacity
Wheatgrass | Botanical Collection | Soft Light blending mode | 18% opacity
Now here is a fun, retro effect! Nightshade works really nice with the Exclusion Blending Mode. It affects the shadows in your image, adding in a muted blue tone resulting in a retro effect. Wysteria used with Overlay Blending Mode completes the effect adding in a rosy overtone.
Nightshade | Botanical Collection | Exclusion blending mode | 58% opacity
Wysteria | Botanical Collection | Overlay blending mode | 60% opacity
There you have it! These are but a few of the endless possibilities you can create using Photo Veils. Use your imagination and experiment, experiment, experiment!
