How to process a photo and make the correct darkening of the jumbotron?

Question

Design

What options do you put in to write text over a photo? It is clear that you can just darken it by reducing the brightness, but sometimes this does not look very good. I usually use #212121 at 40% opacity but would like to see other solutions.

Answer 1

The best option is not to distort the photo, so I try to choose one that has an empty light / dark space in which I can put text.