Add a Little Texture
Recently I have been asked how I create dreamy images of flowers. A big part of the answer is that I use creative art lenses, such as Lensbaby's Velvet 56 and Sweet 50. They help to produce interesting and soft images. But the other reason is that I have begun to experiment with adding textures to my flower photos. I learned about how to add textures from Kathleen Clemons, a wonderful flower photographer, who I have mentioned in several of my posts over the years. She has a new e-book available that is called All About Textures that is well worth the read. She goes in-depth on how to create beautiful images, but I thought I would share with you some of what I have learned about using textures.
First it is important to recognize that everyone has his or her own style preference, so capturing a flower image (or any image for that matter) that looks like the real subject is fine. I still love some of my early photos where the flowers are so realistic.
But as I saw what others were doing with their images, I felt pulled to experiment and see how I could create a more artistic photo. I was still pretty new with Photoshop and was hesitant to using it, so I purchased Topaz Labs' Texture Effects 2. You can use it as a plugin or as a stand-alone app. Texture Effects has a number of textures included and you can upload your own (more about that later). It is a very user-friendly software.
I was pretty happy with the effects that I was getting using this plugin. I bought textures from Kathleen, as well as from other companies (French Kiss Collections and Flypaper Textures), and uploaded them into Texture Effects 2. Below is an image that I took with my Lensbaby Sweet 50 with a texture.
After reading Kathleen's e-book, I was inspired to try using Photoshop. I watched her videos and began to experiment. I have to admit it took me a few weeks to get the hang of it, but now I feel much more confident using it. Unlike many photographers, I use Photoshop for just a few things because Lightroom is so powerful, but to create the images that I wanted Photoshop became more attractive.
You might be wondering why I, or anyone, would want to add a texture to a photo of a flower or any other subject. It is primarily to add more interest, spice up a background, or create a mood that you saw when you took the image. Here is a photo I took of a beautiful flower, but I didn't like the black background.
Using Kathleen's textures I was able to create this image, which I think is so much more interesting. The flower seems to be floating is a cloud.
I liked the raindrops on this flower, but I wanted a more creative image and take the busy colors out of the background.
Playing with a few textures, I was able to create this image, which I love.
You can use textures on any photo, not just flowers, to achieve a more artistic image.
I have used many iPhone apps to add textures to my images. The top image below is the original. I added textures using an app to the one below. I think it gives more punch to the image.
I would encourage you to experiment with textures in your photos. I love taking photos while out Camera Walking, but I equally love coming home and using textures to see what artistic images I can create. It is all about having fun and letting the artist within you to emerge. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on our Facebook page, or send an email.
