How to brighten your images in Photoshop

 

I know that I'm not the first and I definitely won't be the last blogger to offer tutorials and tips etc for blogging and HTML/CSS but I really want to try and offer something other than the generic advice that is passed around. I'm not saying that what I am going to offer is going to be brand-spanking new but hopefully it will help you out nevertheless. Without further a do, this is one of the ways in which you can quickly brighten your images in photoshop (I'm using the CS5 version but this should work in any version of PS).

001: Open your image that you are going to use. Duplicate the layer (by pressing CTRL+J) or by right-clicking the background layer and selecting duplicate layer.

002: Still in the layers section, click where it says Normal and a menu should pop up; click on Screen.

003: You should notice how much brighter your image is already, if it looks okay, that's you pretty much done. However, depending on the image you have chosen, this could have made your image a little too bright so to combat this, lower your opacity until you get your desired look. 

004: To finish off, merge your two layers together (CTRL+E) or right-clicking and selecting merge visible.

 

And it is as simple as that. If you have any questions or requests, feel free to ask them in the comments below. 

Books to be read

Hello lovelies, hope you're all doing well. I thought I'd do something new today and feature the books that I'm currently reading/read. First up is The Help by Kathryn Stockett, I've wanted to read this for such a long time so it must of been fate when I saw it sitting in my school library. I also really wanted to watch the film but I always have to read the book first before I see the film, does anyone else feel the need to do this? The book is about a white woman who writes a book about what it's like for black maids in the 1960s working for other white women. I found this book really interesting and I was actually quite sad to finish it but I highly recommend it!

After watching the trailer (it doesn't post anything on your fb) for Kiss Me First* by Lottie Moggach, I really can't wait to read this. The blurb: "On the internet, we can be anyone we choose. No one knows who we really are. Sheltered and obsessive, Leila spends more time online than out in the real world. So she seems the ideal person to take over the virtual identity of the vivacious and fragile Tess, who wants to disappear. But even with all the facts at her fingertips, there are things that Leila can't possibly know about Tess- or herself- until it is too late..." This looks like it's going to be really interesting.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is going to be a re-read for me as I enjoyed it that much when I first read it. It's about a boy who goes into his school and shoots ten people as a means of revenge for his bullying. It's really interesting as it's told from several different viewpoints and more and more information comes out not just about him but other people that lead to this event.

I've only read a few chapters of The Divide by Nicholas Evans but from what I can gather so far is that a girl called Abbie has been on the run as she is wanted by the FBI but her body has been found in a remote mountain and now her family is trying to figure out what happened to her. I've found this really easy to read so far and I can't wait to find out what happens.

Do you like these kind of posts? Have you read any of these books before?

OOTD | With your morals on your sleeve

 

 

JUMPER-NEW LOOK (SALE) | SKIRT-PRIMARK | BOOTS-TESCO

Hello lovelies, hope you're all doing well. Firstly, can I just apologise for the awful quality of these photos, it's still ridiculously hard to take a photo with decent lighting this time of year but hopefully it will begin to clear up in the next month or so. Also, I changed location today and stole my sister's wall if you were wondering why there is a random campervan in the background- which my grandad painted free-hand FYI;D I picked up this jumper for just £7 in the sale; which is £7 well spent if you ask me. Overall I really like this outfit as it's really simple but still looks quite girly. What do you think?

This week I've been loving...

 

 

First up is the Botanics Purifying Face Scrub. I have read so many good reviews about this product so when I saw it in boots on offer, I immediately grabbed one and then to make things even better; I had enough points to pay for it, so I essentially got it for free, which is always an added bonus! It has a nice texture, that isn't too gritty but gritty enough to leave your skin feeling nice and soft. Also, I have to say my skin does look a lot brighter and it hasn't broke me out, so it's only right that it gets a spot on here.

Next is the Garnier Intensive 7 Day Ultra-replenishing Lotion, basically it does everything it says on the tin and leaves my skin feeling nourished, plus it smells like sun cream.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor is heaven in a bottle. I recently dyed my hair so it needed a bit of TLC and this certainly gives my hair just that. Also, the SMELL, oh my goodness it's honestly amazing and I'm totally not sat here smelling it as I type.

I have literally been looking for the perfect mint jumper for ages so when I saw this in New Look for £20, it went straight into the basket. It is so fluffy and I just love it, simples. On my nails I have been wearing Avon's nailwear pro+ in serene with Barry M's basecoat, topcoat & nail hardener all in one.

I have also rekindled my love with Paolo Nutini's and his album "These streets". He has such an amazing, calming voice and this album has literally been on repeat all day. I still can't believe he is Scottish, you think with a name like that he would be from like Italy or somewhere. Are you a fan of Paolo Nutini? 

First things first, how cute are these moschino headphones*? Lauren from Three, very kindly sent me them to review, I just think they are absolutely adorable. They fit in both my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3 mini) and my ipod and the cord is a perfect length; long enough so you can put your device in your pocket but not long enough so it gets in the way. The only little thing is with the sound; it's good but I personally think they just lack a bit of bass but other than that, I love them.

Last but not least are these necklaces from Kukee. When I noticed how little silver jewellery I owned, I went on a little mission to try and find some cute and affordable pieces and these necklaces definitely fit the bill. I've literally been wearing them with everything and they were just £3 each!

This post has ended up being a lot longer than I first anticipated but hopefully you've enjoyed reading it. Do you like any of these products and what have you been loving this week?