Fading A Filter In Photoshop

Photoshop Tips & Tricks: Lowering The Opacity Or Changing The Blend Mode Of A Filter

Here's a common scenario... You've just applied the Unsharp Mask filter to an image, and now you realize the sharpening is too strong. You're thinking to yourself "I need to undo this and then try again", but there's an easier way.

As soon as you've applied a filter in Photoshop, whether it's Unsharp Mask, Gaussian Blur, or whatever the case may be, before you do anything else, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fade. You'll see the word "Fade" followed by the name of the filter you just applied, so if, for example, you applied Unsharp Mask, it will say "Fade Unsharp Mask":

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Shift+Ctrl+F (Win) / Shift+Command+F (Mac). This will bring up the Fade dialog box:

Here, you can lower the opacity of the filter to reduce its intensity, and you can also change its blend mode. Both of these options affect the filter itself, not the layer you've applied the filter to. Think of it as an opportunity to fine tune the filter before making it official.

The one thing to keep in mind though is that this Fade option is only available immediately after you apply the filter. If you click anywhere else first, Fade will be grayed out and unavailable.