Textures in Photography | northern California photographer
Textures
Have you ever wanted to apply a texture to an image, but just weren't sure how to go about it? I'll give you some simple steps in this tutorial to add that little bit of something extra. I am working on a Mac using Adobe PS CS6. You will need to have Photoshop (or Photoshop Elements); and you will need to download some textures. There are so many out there! If you are unsure whether or not textures are for you, you can try out some free ones. I started by using Amanda Padgette's free textures on her website. You can find them at Everyday Elements.
Here is an image I think might look nice with a texture. This is the SOOC.
And here it is after editing.
The image was edited in LR, but to apply the texture, I need to work in Photoshop (or PSE) in order to utilize layers. From LR, go to the menu across the top and click on Photo > Edit in > Photoshop CS6. The image then appears in Photoshop. There are a couple of ways to apply the texture, but my favorite is to use the Place function. From the File menu (across the top) of PS, click on Place.When the Finder menu appears, go to the section where all your Textures are stored. Select the texture you want to use, click Place, and it then opens in ACR. In this case, I chose Cancun from Amanda's free set. Click OK and the texture then appears as a separate layer in the PS menu panel, as well as on top of the image.
Brush the texture off the petals.
Typically, I would have stopped right there, but just for fun, let's keep going and add another texture layer. This one has a vignette which I like, but very strong color, too strong for my liking for this image. In order to remove the color, but retain the texture, I'm going to desaturate it. While that particular texture layer is highlighted, I go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate and the texture then is completely desaturated of color but has retained the texture detail. (If you have the little Smart Object icon on the corner of the thumbnail, you must rasterize it first. Go to Layer > Rasterize > Smart Object. Then you can continue to the desaturate step.)Here is what the image looked like before the texture was desaturated, and after.
Before
After
And, here is the final result using blending mode Multiply @ 15%.Here are a few more images to which I've applied textures.
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All landscape and still life images are available for purchase.
Please CONTACT ME at nadeen@nadeenflynn.com to purchase prints or schedule your portrait session.
Nadeen Flynn is an award winning northern California portrait and fine art photographer. Living in the greater Sacramento area, she specializes in high school senior and teen portraits as well as fine art landscape and still life photography. Nadeen’s style is authentic, fresh and personality-driven. This retains the timeless features of photography that create family heirlooms. She offers in-person workshops and mentoring. While currently living in rural northern California with her husband and a couple thousand walnut trees, she posts regularly to Instagram.
Currently booking high school seniors, couples, and family portraits. Locations include Yuba City/Marysville, East Nicolaus, Wheatland, Lincoln, Woodland, Roseville, Rocklin, and Sacramento areas.
(530) 633-7575