If you prefer a keyboard short cut, you can use Command-Option-Shift-N (Mac) or Control-Alt-Shift-N (Windows). You can do this by clicking on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. (If your chosen image isn’t exactly how you’d like it, see: how to change background color in Photoshop as one way to alter it.) This may be harder than it seems – especially if you’re fading it into another image. How to Create a Transparent Gradient in Photoshop Step 1: Choose the Main Imageįirst, you’ll need to choose an image that you think will work well being faded into something else.