A study in textures, part two

As was the case with the yucca, I prefer the waterlily in its pure photo form, but it was fun to try to create a Monet effect with the texturing. At least, that's what I was going for, but I didn't even come close. So I opened the waterlily photo in Photoshop. Then I chose a photo of ripples on rocks for my texture layer and also opened it in PS. Using the move tool, I placed the texture on top of the waterlily, which created a new layer. Then I changed the type of layer to soft light (though vivid and hard light also looked interesting) and adjusted the opacity to my liking. I really wasn't too impressed with the way the composition looked in art form, though, so I cropped it. I think with a different texture, or by desaturating the texture first so as not to import any of its colors, I could have achieved what I was going for a little bit better, but I'm definitely no Monet!

A study in textures, part one

Last week, I learned how to layer texture on a photo in Photoshop from thepioneerwoman.com's photography page. I decided I had to try to create this kind of art since I cannot do anything manually artistic like paint, draw, or sketch. In all honesty, I prefer the photo in its original pure form, but the effects of layering texture are pretty cool and could make some awesome wall art for the right setting. Below is the original straight-out-of-the-camera shot followed by two versions of layering textures and solid colors.

Tuckered out

Below are three photos that show different levels of editing. This first one has been edited the most. The last one is a straight-out-of-the-camera shot, and the middle one is in-between. Can you tell the difference in each? With the middle one, I used an unsharp mask in Photoshop to sharpen the image (counterintuitive, I know, but that's how PS rolls with its masking features). I also used the Pioneer Woman action for brightening eyes. I like the second photo better than the first, mostly for the sharpness. But it seems like I somehow lost some of the color saturation after making those edits, even though I didn't touch the saturation! So for the photo immediately below, I increased the saturation a little bit. Which of the three do you prefer?

A new experience

Midge

Praha Wedding

China Flowers

Peekaboo!