Apply the Soft Contrast Effect

The soft contrast Photoshop effect is easy and quick. Follow the steps below to apply the soft contrast effect.

Step 1

Open a photo you would like to edit. Or, you may use the photo used in this tutorial (from iStockPhoto).

Image from iStockPhoto

Step 2

Duplicate the layer (Layer> Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J) and change the blending mode of the new layer to Overlay.

Duplicated layer with blending mode set to Overlay.

Step 3

Activate the top layer and apply a Gaussian Blur filter (Filter> Blur> Gaussian Blur).

Ensure that the Preview checkbox is checked and adjust the radius to achieve your desired effect.

Without blurred Overlay layer vs blurred Overlay layer

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