Adding textures is a fantastic way to get more drama and create a really unique look in your images. You can use textures on top of your photos with an overlay or soft light blend mode, transform them in any way you like, de-saturate or change the colours, and use a layer mask to paint out where you don't want the texture to be.
You can also use them as backgrounds by cutting out your main subject and placing it on top of the texture image. They also work great as backgrounds for collages.
Try using more than one texture! Consider de-saturating all or part of your original image when blending it with a texture. You can also add a hue/saturation layer on top of everything to help blend it all together.
The possibilities are endless.
You can use these textures with any photo editing software that supports layers, such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Luminar, etc.
In this video I’ll show you how easy it is to add textures to your photos using my Bisbee Texture Collection. Then, scroll down for a quick description of my process.
Step 1:
Using any photo editor that supports layers (like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Luminar, ON1, etc.) drop in the texture image above your own original image. You may need to resize it to match the size of your original image.
Step 2:
To make the texture layer blend in with the layer below it, change the blend mode of the texture layer to “overlay” or “soft light”.
Step 3:
Reduce the opacity of the texture layer until you get just the right amount of texture.
Step 4:
Use a layer mask to remove the texture from your main subject (optional).
More options:
- If you want the texture but not the colour from the texture layer, reduce the saturation of the texture layer
- You can also reduce the saturation of your original image, or just one colour in the image
- Transform the texture layer in any way you like
- Add a hue/saturation layer on top of everything to change the look of the final image
- Add a colour lookup adjustment layer or a photo filter adjustment layer to change the look of the final image
- Try using more than one texture!