Photos, stickers and text all have a transparency setting.Some photographers and graphic artists may be accustomed to calling it opacity. This setting refers to how much of what lies behind the object can be seen through it. For example, a sticker set to 50% transparency will show 50% of the sticker and 50% of whatever is behind it. In the example below, the penny sticker on the left has no transparency while the one on the right has 50% transparency.

To adjust the transparency of an object like a photo or a sticker you must first click on the object to select it. Then click on the transparency icon (See #1 below) on the orange toolbox bar above the work space. This will reveal a transparency slider (See #2 below) that can be dragged to adjust the degree of transparency. The degree of transparency can also be adjusted by entering the desired number into the input box to the right of the slider, or by clicking on the + or – on either side of the slider.

 If you want to darken a photo, put a rectangular black sticker over the photo and adjust the transparency of the sticker to the amount you want to darken it. The smaller the degree of transparency, the greater the darkening effect will be.

 If you want to lighten a photo, put a rectangular white sticker over the photo and adjust the transparency of the sticker to the amount you want to lighten it by. The example below shows three images, one normal, the other two darkened or lightened using black and white transparency overlays.

 To add a subtle watermark effect to a background, you can place a sticker over the background and set it to a high level of transparency. For example, take a tan colored parchment background and place a sticker over top. Use color fill option to change the sticker to a medium brown, and then apply a 90% transparency such as in the example below.

Related Topics: Changing sticker colors, Moving Objects.