I formatted the page and added a bitmap photo. The whole page contains a table. I want the background bitmap photo to stay original colors in most of the table. BUT, in 2 columns I would like to make the background very light. I can change the cells to a solid color, but background does not show through at all… OR, is there a way to add the background to the table, instead of the page, so I can adjust the cells as I need?
Hello @cgingerale,
Writer Table cells cells can also have a bitmap as background.
So you could create a duplicate version of your whole page background image, adjust the brightness and contrast, and then for each cell you just cut out from the lighter version precisely that area that it occupies in the darker version, make a separate image from it, and set it as the cell background.
Calc? 
You could insert a rectangle and alter its transparency. So the bitmap seems to be “lighter” in one or more columns. Be aware that the width (and height) of the cells (columns) stay constant…
See sample file.