How to Fade Top Edge of Image to White or Transparent

Hello, check out this thread that outlines how to eliminate part of an image, by masking the rest.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/photoshop/make-it-out-of-bounds-with-photoshop-2020/td-p/10708424

That could be done with layers and a layer mask. Put the water image on a separate layer. Add a layer mask by clicking the layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. Click the mask to make sure it is active. Then add a black to white gradient in the mask. That will fade to transparent.

If you want to fade to white, put a layer underneath the water image layer and fill it with white.