Friday, November 8, 2013

A Personal Photo Challenge (Textures)

The texture I chose is called Impressionista by MCP I believe....I've had it for a long while now so don't get me 'ta lying!  I throw all of my textures into one fat file.



This is a close-up of my granddaughter, Samantha sooc (straight out of camera).  Faces and macros, I believe, are two of my most fun types of shots to work with these days. Texturing can be fun too but I find I don't remember to use it very often.  Donna's challenge reminded me that I knew how to texture so...why not?!  I'm not proficient at it but I try.  Out came the refresher notes....dusted off and opened.  Slowly, memory started to take over.  Alright...so here is how I managed to accomplish adding my texture.
I used Photoshop Elements 9. 
First of all I cropped the photo to cut out the excess visual distractions then I did a little light tweaking.  Now I am ready to apply the texture...
Click File, click Place and your texture will be placed on top of your photo layer.  I centered it and clicked accept.  I then left the opacity at 100 and changed the layer from Normal to Soft light. 
I also don't like the texturing on a subject's skin so I had to clean it off!  To do that, I selected the texture layer, click it BACK to Normal...I now needed a medium skin tone to paint with, I chose a matching color...set the texture BACK to soft light and started painting the texture off of her skin. 
WhaLaaaaa.....
Thanks Donna for the texture challenge!  It was fun!  A texture adds a huge heaping amount of drama to any photo.  If you haven't tried this medium, you really need to! 
Now go visit some other wonderful photos at Donna's, A Personal Photo Challenge.


23 comments:

Donna said...

Gorgeous subject and gorgeous texture! I knew that you would rock out this challenge with ease. Thank you for participating, Miz Donna!

SOUL said...

as always -- beautiful !!!!
i'm in .. i'm back .. i posted my texture pic -- just didn't know for sure where to say so -- so if you - or anyone wants to see it -- click my name --
see ya round
have a happy day lady

podso said...

This is lovely! It's something you could really use, how you've embellished the photo of such a beautiful young lady!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Your photo turned out really nice after adding the texture, and your granddaughter is a beautiful young lady.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

She is lovely. I've always wanted to learn Photo shop. What a good post!

Mary said...

Really lovely - she looks gorgeous in both pics, but the edited version does something special to those pretty eyes, and the overall look is softer. Great job!

Happy weekend -Mary

Vee said...

What a lovely granddaughter! You made that photo shine.

Jeanne said...

I see I have a lot to learn about texture. You did a beautiful job with a beautiful subject!!!

Anvilcloud said...

Very nice work, Donna. I am not always a fan of texturizing, but applied like this, it's very good.

Brenda said...

BeUtiful Miz Donna!! Love this pretty girl with or without texture but the texture is neat!

Loving Whatcha Got said...

Beautiful girl! The texture really makes the picture pop.

Ann said...

What a beautiful photo that is. Of course you've got a beautiful subject to work with too

Ruthi said...

Great treatment. you made her beauty pop up with the texture. great job.

Cheryl said...

What a lovely picture! Of course, you had a beautiful subject to work with, but nonetheless, even my untrained eye can see the oomph your texture gave to this photo.

Unknown said...

Beautiful, thanks for telling us how you did this.

Shane Pollard said...

What a beautiful granddaughter!
Both your photos of Samantha are gorgeous - your layering and texture has really brought her sparkling eyes and smile alive.
It's wonderful.
Shane xox

Sally said...

Love her, lovely pic!

Linda H said...

What a beautiful photo of such a stunning young lady. It's beautiful with or without the texture. Great job! I need a lot more practice before I'd try it on a portrait!!

Lorrie said...

Your skill with textures is really evident in this post. Your granddaughter's beauty is enhanced by the texture you used for the background. I'm impressed!

ClickNCamera said...

Beautiful grand~daughter...and a lovely "oil painting" affect after using the texture!Enjoy your day!

Sandy Trefger said...

Beautiful photo and beautiful gran-daughter! She must take after you!! Love the texture. Well done!

Jenny said...

Absolutely wonderful. That girl is gawjus and her grandma so smahhhht!

Crystal said...

Pretty girl and an awesome job. Love the "color" of the pic if that makes sense..