Thursday, September 24, 2015

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?

32 comments:

  1. Knowing when to stop is key for me










    ALOHA
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

    ReplyDelete
  2. i think i like #1 edit and the cropped orig version. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorites are the image above the 2nd texture, and the last one! Do you know there's are Tuesday Texture meme at narami at wordpress? Play on!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely. The original is great and among the textured ones I liked the 4th one. Great creativity.
    Happy SWF!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've not played with textures - the results are definitely interesting, although I tend to prefer the straight photograph (sometimes cropped or with a little color adjustment, but not with the overdone HDR that was so popular for a while).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great work on the images. I like the original best.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like playing with textures. Number 1 is my fave

    ReplyDelete
  8. The first one is my favorite! I have played with textures on my iPad and it is a hit and miss post edit process.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What gorgeous textures and shots!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I really really like the idea of using texture, but in this case I prefer the original with the crop and color pop :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. i just started using lighthouse and photoshop and after reading i really want to try this texture thing, great look!! my favorite one is your textured image#3. i also like kerstin franks photo very much, such a wonderful way of changing - happy weekend :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love playing around with images though I've never had much success with using textures. I think I like #3 best of your experiments.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting series of photos. Love how the use of textures changes the whole atmosphere of the scene. My favourite is #1 because it seems to be a natural transformation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. These are wonderful images. I like the texture and the crop. It kind of looks like there is a dust storm behind you. Well done. Have a happy day and weekend ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  15. oh...you just made me want to go out and play.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Maybe I am old fashioned but I still prefer the original ones. But I do like the last picture of Kerstin Frank! Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I like the original also No 6 and No. 8. The last photo is wonderful with the painting texture. Thanks for stopping by my post. All I know about this second photo is that it was taken somewhere along Big Sur.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I absolutely loved first and last one.. beautiful composition and textures :D

    ReplyDelete
  19. Interesting, I have Corel Paintshop and it has the capability to work in layers and has excellent videos on how to use. So I just need to learn how to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's nice to play with filters and textures, but mostly in the end I'm not very satisfied with the results.
    And actually that goes for your photos too. The cropped original is my favorite this time.
    I hope you'll have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Great post on filters and textures ~ I some how like the the original ~ Guess I am just not 'with it' ~ Slowly becoming a dinosaur! LOL

    Happy Weekend to you,
    artmusedog and carol

    ReplyDelete
  22. Very interesting effects. I have never tried them. I just visited Kerstin Frank's FLICKR page and find it fascinating. thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  23. After such a long time from my computer, I have almost forgotten how to use textures. They were my favorites through the years, and I took many online classes learning how to use them and collecting them. You have inspired to hit my Photoshop and Lightroom and give it a try again. I could see one of these beautiful hanging on your wall. They are all wonderful. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  24. You have made a wonderful "old photo" by combining multiple images. The end result is delightful.
    Have a happy weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  25. nice post. When will you share your work with NF DAM? My digital art meme?

    nfverk.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment, and hoping to link up in the future when I have a bit more time!

      Delete
  26. I have never heard about this technique before. Thanks for sharing. I cannot decide if I like more your Texture Image #1 or #3. I think in number three the texture is too overpowering but I like the bright colors.

    ReplyDelete