Using Texture to Spice Up your Photos

You've probably heard of "textures" as related to photography. A simple analogy might be looking at something through a screen door, colored glass, a dirty window, etc. It makes the object you are looking at look different, similar to the way a photo looks after adding a texture.

I haven't taken many photos over the past week or two, so this a good time to take an image from my files (in this example, June of this year) and share how using a texture (or multiple textures) can impact the way it looks. Here's an example of a texture by Kerstin Frank. She's one of my favorites, and shares her textures freely (just give her credit). There are many, many other textures on Flickr and similar sites. I have collected literally thousands of textures as well as made my own.

The only tricky part to using textures is you must have a program that allows you to add multiple "layers" on top of each other and blend them together. I use PhotoShop, but there are other software programs that do the same thing. There are also blog link-ups dedicated to sharing textured photos and websites that sell textures.

Let's start with this image of my granddaughter and I out on a dusty desert road. Just a so-so image in my opinion, but it has potential. I had set up my iphone on a tripod and used the 10-second timer for this shot.

I don't like all the foreground or the overall composition, so let's start with a crop and add a little color saturation. The crop helps put emphasis on the long, straight road and provides better balance.

Rule #1 is that adding a texture may or may not enhance the photo. You never know exactly what you're going to get, which is half the fun! Now I'll take this shot and add the above texture to it, and mix the two together. I kind of like the result, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Textured Image #1

There are many different mixing options in PhotoShop. Here's a really heavily modified use of the texture along with an additional crop. It turns my granddaughter and I into silhouettes. I like this version too, but it's a major departure from the original and probably not for everyone!

Textured Image #2

Here's another version... similar to the first one, but with a little heavier blend of the texture.

Textured Image #3

Finally, at the risk of overdoing it, let's add a second texture:

Here's what you get with this second texture blended in. Usually after adding more than a couple or few textures, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.

Textured Image #4

So after making all these textured photos, you have to ask yourself the tough question: Are they any better than the original, and which one do I like best?? I would love to hear what you think!!

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

PS: Can't resist... Here's an example of a Kerstin Frank photo. Using textures can give your photos a painterly feel to them. Beautiful work, wouldn't you agree?