Adding Texture to Your Photos

Adding textures to your photos is a fun way to either spruce up or add drama and character to your already amazing photos. You can make them into works of art and it's really quite simple to do! 

  I use photoshop to edit my photos, so once I am done with my edit I then add my texture. Kim Klassen is an amazing place to get textures. And MCP Actions has a free add texture action on her blog page. It makes it easy and simple!

  Once you've added the texture of your liking, I like to mess around with the layer option, i.e. multiply or soft light and opacity.

And there you go, a vintage look to a fun picture! Super easy!

When you add texture to photos with faces and people, I like to use a soft brush or eraser to erase some of the texture off the subject. That way it your subject stands out and doesn't have any weird lines or colors on them.

  And sometimes, just keeping it simple makes all the difference. You don't always have to make it dramatic to give it the right look.

Have any texture tips? Please share them!! :)

Get creative with textures

I know that a lot of the times I post on here I talked about textures. but I love that we can create images that we want in this digital age. So I just want to do a step by step tutorial to added out the norm textures to allow you to get creative with your photos.

A few weeks ago I went to a balloon festival and the balloons didn't take to the air until really late which didn't give me the ideal light I wanted. So after being bummed out by the photos I took I decide that I was going to save them by added what I wished I could have captured.

Now just know that I used Photoshop Elements 8 so if you use something else some of these tips might not work for you.

 
First you need to open up the photo you want to edit and do your clean edits because you want you photo to be the best it can before you add any type of textures. I know I wanted to make this photo very dramatic. So I searched the internet for free textures for Photoshop and brushes.

The textures I used were these…

How I added it all together was added the warmth to it with a PW action.

Then I added the clouds change they layer to soft light lowered the opacity to my liking and erased the texture over the hot air balloon.

Then added the stars again changing the layer to soft light lowing the opacity erased the texture over the hot air balloon.

I fixed the colors added a sun haze with a coffee shop action. added the grass to make it more alive. (again changed to soft light lowing the opacity.)  I first made a new layer then added the moon with a “moon bush” then I lowered the opacity to make it more realistic. added a vignette then added the border texture.

I think I fixed the colors again with actions. sharpened and reduced the noise and was done. NOW, this took a few hours to get it right. ( and I still see things I would change.) So be patient but do be creative. Textures can make amazing photos if you know how to use them and the only way to learn is by practicing.

 

Here are some others I took that day that I added textures too so you can see how different textures can change the mood of your photos.

 

If you guys end up using textures like these I would love to see them! Post them into our FLICKR GROUP so we can get inspired by all of you and link up to the linky I host every Thursday for Texture Thursday.

 

 

Audrey- The Daily Wyatt

What texture can do for you.

 

Hello everyone.. I decided for my first post on here that I would like to give some simple steps on how to add textures to your photos using Photoshop Elements 8. When I first started using photo shop I didn't know exactly how to add texture so as I read and googled I found some very simple and quick steps that I use faithfully today.

Now you can either edit your photo first before adding the texture or after. I found that doing one or the other can give you two different looks. So my best advice is to mess around with it and see what you think is better.

First:

Then...

(I have found that putting your textures into one folder on your desktop is the easiest way to find them.)

Once you placed your texture don't panic...

 

*you cant really read the other part on there it says... "Then fix the opacity to your liking."

After that...

Once you get comfortable with the erase tool you could also use the brush tool and brush white or black on.

White lightens it and Black darkens (make sure you fix the opacity of that tool too.)

FYI: When using that tool it DOES NOT erase the texture it sort of blends it in more and keeps the textures color.

Here are some places that I have found which gives away free textures: Jerry Jones, Skc Photography, Charlene McCoy Photography, and Flickr. (you can also Google "free textures for Photoshop" which pulls up a lot too.)

The best advice I can give you about textures is to play with them and try using different tools in Photoshop or even edit the texture before using it. You never know what surprises textures will give your photos.

 

Here are my latest photos then I have put texture too. If you want to know how I exactly edited all of them please click each picture.

 

 

Now since I am a newbie to this blog... I would like you to get to know me at my personal blog The Daily Wyatt. It is mostly a photo blog about my life with my son but I also host a 365 days in pictures linky every Saturday (join the Flickr Group today! *this is where I pick 365 days in photos linkys Top 5 each week then do a Vote off each month for the winner.)  and starting next month I will be hosting a linky called Texture Thursday.

Thanks for reading

I hope to see you around soon.

Audrey ;)

Also don't forget about the linkys that are hosted here: Show and Tell and Touch Up Tuesdays. Plus if you haven't yet joined the Flickr groups please do...

Paper Heart Camera, 365 group, 52 weeks of me

We love seeing every ones wonderful photos plus we also highlight those photos on here! :D