Question

Is there a way to fake a foreground-image analagous to a background-image in CSS? Instead of existing behind other elements in a div, it would obscure everything inside the element.

Answer 1

Use a pseudo-element (::before won’t work in IE≤7):

.obscured{     
    position: relative;
}
.obscured::before{
    position: absolute; /* maximize the pseudo-element */
    top: 0;
    right: 0;
    left: 0;
    bottom: 0;
    background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0.3); /* use background-image here */
    content: " "; /* it needs actual content, an empty space is enough */
}

See also:

• JSFiddle Demo
• W3C: CSS2.1: 12.1 The :before and :after pseudo-elements