EasyFade › How to add a gradient fade to a photo

How to add a gradient fade to a photo

A gradient fade that is not tied to an edge. Place the line anywhere on the photo, at any angle, and the image dissolves across it.

Edge fades start at a border and work inward, which is fine until the thing you want to fade is in the middle of the picture, or the angle you want is diagonal. A placed gradient line solves both: you decide where it sits, which way it points, and how wide the transition is.

This is a Pro feature. Edge fading is free, and if an edge fade does what you need there is no reason to pay for this.

Step by step

1. Open the editor and add your photo. Click, drag or paste. Processing happens in your browser.
2. Switch to the gradient line mode. Instead of choosing an edge, you place a line.
3. Position and rotate the line. Drag it where you want the transition to happen and set the angle. Horizontal, vertical, or any diagonal.
4. Set the width of the transition. A narrow band gives a defined split; a wide one gives a slow blend across much of the photo.
5. Choose which side disappears. Invert the direction if the wrong half is fading.
6. Save as PNG. Full resolution, with the transparency intact.

What this is useful for

• Text over a photo. Fade the part of the image that sits behind your text, so the words stay readable without a dark box behind them.
• Diagonal layouts. An edge fade can only run parallel to a side. A placed line can run at 30 degrees across a corner.
• Blending into a coloured area. Because the photo fades to nothing rather than to a colour, it picks up whatever the background is, including a gradient background.

A note on angles

A fade that runs at a slight angle to the composition usually looks like a mistake. Either match the angle of something already in the picture — a horizon, a building edge, the direction a person is facing — or go clearly diagonal. The uncomfortable zone is a few degrees off straight.

Common questions