Step 4: Select "Layer 1"

Currently, the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer is selected in the Layers palette. We know that because it's highlighted in blue. We're going to be applying one of Photoshop's filters to the copy of our image on "Layer 1", but before we can do that, we need to make "Layer 1" the selected layer. Click on it in the Layers palette to select it:

Step 5: Apply The "Angled Strokes" Filter

With "Layer 1" now selected, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Brush Strokes, and then choose Angled Strokes:

This brings up Photoshop's large Filter Gallery set to the Angled Strokes options along the right column. Set the Direction Balance, which controls the direction of the brush strokes, to 50, the Stroke Length to 15 and the Sharpness to 3 (these are the default settings so you may not have to change them at all):

Click OK to exit out of the Filter Gallery and apply the Angled Strokes filter to the image. The photo now appears more like a painting created by a series of diagonal brush strokes:

Step 6: Lower The Opacity of "Layer 1"

With "Layer 1" still selected, go up to the Opacity option at the top of the Layers palette and lower the layer's opacity down to 50%. This will blend the brush strokes in with the original image on the Background layer:

Step 7: Change The Blend Mode To "Dissolve"

Finally, go back up to the Blend Mode option at the top of the Layers palette and change the blend mode for "Layer 1" from Normal to Dissolve:

With the blend mode set to Dissolve, the brush strokes effect now has a speckled appearance, adding to the old fashioned look of the image (the speckles will be easier to see with your own image open in Photoshop than they are in the small screenshot):

With the initial photo effect now complete, let's see how to use the Dissolve blend mode to add a speckled photo border to our image. We'll do that next!

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