Texture, Anyone?

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When I recently posted this image, two [and two], on Flickr, the wonderfully kind and talented Matt Penning asked where I was getting the stone layer used to create the photo’s texture. I posted a response, indicating that the stone layer was nothing more than a sidewalk that I had photographed. I thought that the question was a one-off inquiry. To my surprise, however, I learned that many didn’t know how to create a textured photograph. So, the abridged version goes something like this…

1) Photograph something around the house or around town that has texture — a sidewalk, a broken window, a tree trunk. Make sure that you shoot in the highest resolution possible, raw if that is an option for you.

2) Bring the photo into Photoshop and desaturate it. (Click on “Image” then “Adjustments” then “Desaturate.”) Save your texture file for future use.

3) Open your primary image and work on it normally. When finished, you’ll be ready to add the texture layer. First, however, you will want to make sure that the photos have the same dimensions (4×6, 5×7, etc.), are the same size, and are similarly situated, either horizontally or vertically. Technically, the texture photo can be larger than the primary image, but it is a good practice to check for size just the same.
4) When ready to texturize, you can do so by dragging the textured photo onto the primary image using the “move tool.” This creates the texture layer. You’ll need to adjust the layer’s opacity to bring your primary image back into view; how much you adjust the opacity is purely subjective and is one of the choices you make that will render you photo uniquely yours.

So that’s the uber simplified instruction for creating images with texture. There are a number of other ways to do it (add grain, use Photoshop’s texture actions, paint textures), but for me, this gives the best bang for the “buck.”

If you have any questions about some of the intermediate steps that I brushed over without adequate explanation, just email me, and I’ll try help you out.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 30th, 2007 at 11:09 pm. It is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.