Experimenting with Textures by Andrew Smith

One technique I like to use when looking for a unique result is the use of textures. This may bring to mind specific looks that we've seen in use, but in reality the results are endless in variety, ranging from very subtle effects barely noticeable to immediately dramatic changes. This variety allows an extra level of creativity in our photography processing. The idea initially became popular with traditional photography, printing the photograph on textured paper. Fortunately for us, we can layer our texture files on top of our photos and have vast control of the result.

While excellent textures are available for purchase, part of the creative process that we can utilize, and one that ensures unique prints, is to create custom textures ourselves. Interesting textures we pass by can be photographed and manipulated or they can be created from scratch.

One of my favorite textures to use is an easy one to create, which I adapted from Nitsa's excellent "Still Alive" web site. (http://nonphotography.com/blog/) Crumble a regular piece of copy paper and soak it in a container of coffee. Remove, lay flat, and air dry the paper. Scan the result and manipulate at will. I've included a small sample of one such texture, as well as a resulting photograph.

To experiment, do initial work on a photograph using your regular work flow. Once it's resized as you wish, select the crop tool in Photoshop and click "Front Image" to set the cropping tool to the image size of your photograph. Open the texture file you created and crop to those set dimensions. Drag the texture (holding the shift key down to center) on top of the photograph and release.

Select the texture layer and experiment with various layer styles and opacities. You'll most likely develop favorite styles and soon have a feel for what photographs work the best with the technique. After making initial settings, you may wish to go back and adjust some of your initial workflow decisions.

The creative possibilities are endless. Use the textures on color, black and white or duotone images, and experiment with new texture ideas. It's not often that we can utilize a new tool that is literally free to produce. Or at least for the cost of a cup of coffee!

Andrew Smith is a talented Pennsylvania based-photographer and blogger who runs - Visual Realia.

Thank you, Andy for the creative inspiration, your friendship, and your support!