Photo shop elem 2.0 layers

[shawnc]

Hello DGrinners,

I am new to photoshop, and understanding the concept of layers. Seems sooo simple yet I can't get a grasp on it. I've looked at tutorials, experimented on images, but yet, it still doesn't sink in. I am trying to adjust some images taken in early morn with wide angle lense, the sky is blown out and foreground is underexposed. was eperimenting with gradients on the layers but I cant figure out what tools to use. There is no tutorial that addresses this problem that relates to the watered down functions of PS elem 2.0. Any help out there?

[richtersl]

I was able to apply the blending modes discussed here to PhotoShop Elements:

http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1951332

Look at the one for the Overlay blending mode.

Basically, you just duplicate your background layer and apply the overlay blending mode to it and adjust the opacity as needed. To darken a light area, just use the paint brush tool to paint black over it it and to darken a light area, just use the paint brush to to paint white over it.

I've been able to apply gradient filters in PSE but to tell you the truth, this Overlay trick works much better because it lets you get seletive with what you're adjusting.

In this regard PSE works just like its big brother. But you need to ignore any steps involving the Channel mixer or curves because you won't have that in PSE.