A little about both. But mostly (thank goodness) the latter.
I think like an artist. I can’t help it. Sometimes I see a color on a passing Suburban on the road and I dream of using it to create a custom paint to finish a bathroom. I’ve been known to take a snapshot of a friend’s shoe with my phone so I can remember the pattern for a sketch later. I dream in rainbows and see patterns when I close my eyes.
And textures? Don’t get me started on textures! Oh, okay, fine. Go ahead and get me started.
The other day, when I was snapping this photograph of Small Fry, I happened to take the following photograph of my shadow on the pavement beneath the four wheeler.
Upon seeing the accidental photograph, I did what any good artist would do: I deleted it to save room on my memory card. I saved it with the intention to use it to create something later. What did I end up creating?
How did I do it? Here’s how. You can join in the texture fun, too!
First, I opened the shot of the concrete in Lightroom. Oh, how I am addicted to Lightroom. (I’m giving away a brand spanking new Lightroom 3 on my blog very soon, by the way. To one of you! So look alive.)
Using the crop tool, I selected a part of the photograph with a relatively consistent texture. Crop!
Here is what I got after cropping:
Then, also in Lightroom, I played around with the lighting. Using the White Balance (labeled WB at the top of your right side tool bar) toggles, I slid the temperature up a bit, to make the texture warmer. I upped the clarity and contrast, too. Here is what I ended up with.
I saved that image (as Concrete2 if you really want to know) to my computer. Then, I opened up Photoshop. I started with this SOOC* shot of Nuggey the other day. (*Straight out of the Camera, meaning this photograph had not been edited in any way yet.)
Isn’t he a sweetie? Poor little guy was sliding on the hallway floors late last night with our pastors’ kids after small group and face planted and split the inside of his lip wide open. Our pastor rocked Flurry to sleep and put him in his bassinet himself. My husband tended to Nuggey who, surprisingly, wasn’t the least bit upset, even at the sight of all the blood, after the initial impact. We ended up deciding he probably didn’t need stitches, sent our pastor’s family home and got everyone else to bed. Nuggey looks pretty darn cute and tough today with his fat lip, which he is showing off to anyone who will look. Which, so far, just consists of everyone in our family, but later will probably include the folks at the camera store because my main camera has been repaired and is ready!!!
Ahem.
Next, I converted the photograph to a high contrast black and white image. I explained how I do that in this post. Yes, I went back to Lightroom to do the black and white edit. I’m anal a big attention to detail freak like that.
Okay, back to Photoshop, with the black and white image of Nuggey opened. It’s a sweet photo, very smooth and crisp. But I wanted it to have a little bit of an edge.
So, under file, I dragged my cursor down to place. A box opens, letting me search my computer for an image to place over the top of the photo of Nuggey. I select, you guessed it, Concrete2.
Presto! It’s placed.
I grab the edges of the texture photograph and drag them to the edges of Nuggey’s photo, completely covering it.
Now comes the fun part. By placing, I have created a new layer on top of my original layer. In the right hand side of your Photoshop workspace, you’ll now see both layers. Currently, the textured layer is selected. See how it’s highlighted with light blue? Now, there’s a little arrow I drew (I have no idea how it got cropped off, but I’m way too lazy to go fix it at this point.), and it’s pointing to a spot that says opacity. Next to that is a box where you can change the % opacity. Initially, it is set to 100%. But as I slid the toggle to the right, making my concrete layer less opaque, I can start to see sweet Nuggey peeking through! See?
I went on to lower the opacity quite a bit more, so that the result was a delightfully subtle textured overlay. But I didn’t care for the texture right on Nuggey’s face that much.
So, what’s a girl to do? I grabbed my eraser tool (see the arrow pointing to the left sidebar), sized it to how big I wanted it, and then lowered the strength of the eraser by playing with the eraser opacity (see the arrow pointing to the top bar). I think I set it to about 27% or something, but I’m not sure.
Then, I erased most of the texture off of Nuggey’s face, with this as the result:
I loved it! I went on to do this same thing to every photograph in this post of Nuggey holding Flurry, but I made the result a little stronger by keeping the opacity of the texture layer a little higher.
The warm tone I gave my original textured photograph didn’t come into play as I decided to make Nuggey’s photo in black and white. But when using color, especially warm, fall color, I thought the warmer look would work nicely. To make sure, I did the same thing to this photograph of Stellan at a pumpkin patch recently. I let some of the texture stay on his hair and shirt and lightly erased almost all of the texture right on his face.
It turned out great! At least, in my opinion. And, when it comes to art and photography, that is what counts! So, go have yourselves a heyday trying it out. If you do, go ahead and share with me and everyone else how it turned out. I created a thread in my community where you can upload and share your own work! (And talk about textured photographs in general and post questions, too.) It’s right here.
Have fun!!
Texture is addicting! One of my fav. ways to edit! Great post. I wish I had read it back when I was so confused on how to add texture, you explain it way easier than I had learned!
Gorgeous! I can’t wait to give that a try. Isn’t there a shortcut key to bounce between PS and LR? I think there is I can’t remember what it is though. Dern it! Grr…
Jenn,
First. I wanted to comment on your current predicament:
I am so thankful that you have taken responsibility. So many bloggers would play the victim. Would scream and shout and say how wronged they were. I applaud you for admiting your mistakes and taking the consequences with grace. I hope others will follow your example.
I also want to say that whatever you decide, sign on to another company or stay with your blog as it is, you are doing the right thing. Why? Because you have learned. You are learning. And God is standing by.
I thank you. I thank you for showing that a major blogger can take responsibility for something they did wrong.
I am hoping that others can follow. Can see what a learning experience this is for you…and all your readers.
That adults, for everything they are in this world, that parents can do wrong. By standing up and accepting what you did, by accepting the consequences…you are showing you children great respect, learning and responsibility.
How fortunate they are.
oh. I forgot. I once took a rose, plucked its petals off and they placed them on a neutral backround. I use that “rose petal” as a texture. I recommend it. It adds a softness and depth to many photos…and since you can pick the color, you can choose to soften something with pink or brighten it with yellow. (B&W is niffty too)
My hubby has taken 100s (maybe into the 1000s) of texture photos – he’s an addict. He has them all on a website – available for free download: http://texturearchive.com/
Great photos! Thanks for the lesson (=
Awesome. Thanks for the tutorial. I happen to be editing photos today and can’t wait to try it. All of what I know how to do on Photoshop has been self taught. There is so much to learn and so little time. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
I thought you were going to use the shadow part of your legs. I love that part!
cute!! love the tutorials… i use corel paint shop pro ultimate, which has pretty much the same capabilities. i’m totally clueless about vectors and layers and all that, but i suppose swallowing my fear and just jumping in would help me learn. nothing’s final till you hit “save”, right?
anyway, just a quick comment on nuggey’s lip: first, owwww! second, have you tried arnica? for an owie like that, using both a tablet AND the topical gel would do wonders. poor kiddo!
also, i know the comments on your “flawed” post are closed, but i just wanted to say that it’s a big thing to admit when you’re wrong, even when it wasn’t on purpose. kudos to you for doing that! there’s not one person on the face of this earth that is perfect, or who can honestly say that they’ve come clean for every mistake they’ve made. i give you credit for that post…
Looks awesome! Cant wait to try it. What version of photoshop are you using?
Please do another, it’s feeling a little
! Are there textures available on PS? Can you show the before/after side by side? I would love to see more of this!!! Have PS and it feels like a foreign language to me 
! Hugs,
Greek to me, but I want to do it
BRILLIANT (and sweet photographs)
I just posted a blog about textures too. So wonderful to work with and they sure make the colors in photos pop out too. My blog wasn’t quite as in depth though
Loved this texture tip! I think I’m really goin’ have to be getting this Lightroom. People say I take great pics but I just want to be able to do more with them. I have Photoshop but I just seem to like what you can do in Lightroom more. I think I’d be able to stop using other photographers except for our family pics if I got it. Thanks so much for the tips… much appreciated!
Thanks I have tried textures on my own before and didn’t work. Your explanation was easy to follow. I can’t wait to try again
Whenever I have tried to work with Photoshop, I end up walking away, scratching my head, and feeling like my IQ is about 2. I just can NOT wrap my mind around it!!
Perhaps I should try it again. Perhaps.
An easy way to learn photoshop editing is to search youtube for tutorials. They have a lot of wonderful step by step tutorials that are very helpful.
Hahaha me toooooooo
the picture of stellan is precious. hope things get better over all for you soon.
Since you made the concrete texture opaque, would you have to edit it? What would happen if you just cropped it and then placed it on the other photo?
Great pic! Hope I win Lightroom and Nuggey’s lip goes down soon!
I’m pretty sure I am blocked in your comments from the oil shoot post, but I hope you still read blocked comments anyway.
I’m so sad that this recent event has impacted your ability to provide for your family. I hope that you will find another BlogHer-type of affiliation, because I still believe you have much to offer your readers. The tips shared in this post with your readers will help many of them try something new. I know I will use your step-by-step instructions, maybe later today or tomorrow for some recent uploads of my grandson.
However, when you screenshot Lightroom and/or Photoshop to help illustrate your demo, aren’t those images also protected material? I thought that only ‘official’ or approved writers could do that? I certainly wouldn’t want you to incur further damages/criticisms given the events of this past weekend.
My only other comment would be that I am not sure your apology/admission is fully that; it seemed that you were only sorry you got caught? I know it’s time to move on, but I’m hoping I Cor 10:12-13 will come to your mind the next time you need to explain that you are ‘flawed.’
My heart truly aches for you and this recent ‘situation’. And it aches because even though you are flawed, you blog in the name of Christ. Your reputation isn’t the only one that took a beating here. He forgives you, absolutely. But His warnings are also very stern for those who lead/teach — and to whom much has been given.
You CAN use the screenshots, per my contact @Adobe, with the following permission statement:
7. You must include the following copyright attribution statement: “Adobe product screenshot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated.”
8. If your use includes references to an Adobe product, the full name of the product must be referenced at the first and most prominent mention (such as Adobe® Dreamweaver®). When referencing any Adobe trademarks, please mark them with a ™ or ® as indicated in the Adobe trademark database for general distribution.”
Donna – you need a new hobby for sure. Maybe you should be spending more time with that grandson of yours…
I do — lots. Happens to be with his mommy right now.
Do you ever discourage the wolverines? Or are they just allowed to speak their minds? MWOP puts an end to over-the-line comments. Maybe it just makes you feel better when they defend you?
Did I say anything that YOU consider not to be true?
Donna, I do not see anyone bashing you and neither has anyone written anything over-the-line. What I’ve seen on ‘the other site’ had me cringing (not your comments) and the moderator has deleted some of the worst, filthy words and so forth. Those comments are totally uncalled for.
oh my goodness Donna…. GET A LIFE…. I will “pray” that someone in your near future will pick and point out your flaws and when you apologize I hope NOONE believes you! My heart truly aches for YOU Donna!
GrammyCA, Just curious how your heart can truly ache for her when you have been spouting off about Jennifer for months on MWOP. You encouraged a lot of people’s behavior over there. I don’t get it.
So glad you’ve been able to follow my comments. The ones where I ‘spout off’. How about the ones where I express concern for her family, as I did in this one?
Sorry you feel I ‘encouraged’ behavior over there. I’ve also sent concerns directly to Jennifer, out of concern for her. And frankly, I’m surprised this one went through. Maybe so her supporters could do the defensive work for her? Maybe. But maybe not.
This comment was sincere: she has a lot to offer her readers, and I hope someone else will partner with her.
Sometimes the commenters here are no better than the worst at MWOP.
There is no need to get defensive. I truly don’t understand considering your activity on the other blog for the past few months. In any event, I probably shouldn’t have brought it up on Jennifer’s blog so maybe my comments can be deleted.
I think that judgmental religious hypocrites give Christianity a really bad name. I think that angry, self-righteous bullies turn more people away from Christianity than Christians who make mistakes and are sorry. I remember that Jesus said in the Bible that if you look at someone and say “you fool,” you are in danger of the fires of hell. I think about Jesus encountering the woman at the well and treating her with compassion and kindness and then saying, “Go and sin no more.” Think of how he treated sinners in the Bible, he sought them out and ate with them at the table when very few would. Jesus treated repentant sinners with compassion and the only time he was angry in the Bible is when he encountered religious hypocrites like the Pharisees or when he saw the temple turned into a marketplace. I am truly saddened when I read posts like Donna Albert’s and other cyberbullies because it seems hypocritical to me to criticize someone and ignore your own flaws, like the lack of love and compassion and the lack of sincere kindness and diplomacy. It’s time that cyberbullies took the 2 X 4 planks out of their own eyes.
BTW if Jennifer wants to put up Google ads I’ll click on all of them every time I come on the blog. It will be my way to take a stand against cyberbullies and cyberstalking, and religious hypocrites.
Amen!!!
Bash on me all you want. All that I’m interested in is Jennifer’s perspective: if she thinks I spoke anything less than truth. Maybe you all would like to know why she let my comment go through?
It may not always be easy to hear things, even when they are spoken for your benefit. It doesn’t mean that it’s any less true.
Respectfully said, Donna!
I don’t think it’s respectful for Donna to accuse MckMama of being “only sorry that you caught” and then quote the Bible after that, it seems very judgmental, vindictive and unkind to me, and not the best example of Christian behavior.
As we have seen this week from the case of the Rutgers student, the Internet provides a unique platform to harass, shame, attack and humiliate people through cyberbullying, on a national and even worldwide forum. Why is it that some people seek to elevate themselves at the expense of others? It’s so much easier to be nice. And you’ll be making the world a better place.
SPREAD LOVE EVERYWHERE YOU GO: FIRST OF ALL IN YOUR OWN HOUSE. GIVE LOVE TO YOUR CHILDREN, TO YOUR WIFE OR HUSBAND, TO A NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR… LET NO ONE EVER COME TO YOU WITHOUT LEAVING BETTER AND HAPPIER. BE THE LIVING EXPRESSION OF GOD’S KINDNESS; KINDNESS IN YOUR FACE, KINDNESS IN YOUR EYES, KINDNESS IN YOUR SMILE, KINDNESS IN YOUR WARM GREETING.
MOTHER TERESA
Colleen, fantastic!
Donna, not sure why you are posting here and on the other site. There’s nothing christian about doing that.
I feel bad for starting this but considering that GrammyCa/Donna feels so offended, I just want to suggest that people got to MWOP, click on her Disqus profile and read all her comments she has made about Jennifer.
Sorry for stirring up trouble, Jennifer but Donna pretending to be the victim doesn’t sit well with me. I have always ignored the drama here until today but this pretty much irritated me. Sorry.
interesting
Oh MckMama. I just caught up on your posts from over the weekend (I was in Paris, France, and didn’t bring my computer with me). I’m praying for you. Everyone makes mistakes. So sorry this happened to you.
And I loved this tutorial! I’m getting Lightroom soon…I can’t wait
I hope you brought a camera!
Oh, definitely, Sara
The first of the photos are already up on my blog…
My boyfriend’s sister went to France and Spain last February. She made an amazing scrapbook with all her pictures that she just finished last week.
I’m heading over to check out your pictures! Hope you had a ton of fun
I wish I had the time AND patience to do this. Also..I guess I would need more than just Adobe to do it too.
I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t taken my camera out in a long time. Sucks to be back to working full time.
girl I hear you. I recently had to go back to work full-time, and it is totally draining me. I think if I didn’t spend so much time hating it and being mad about it, I might actually enjoy it. A little.
not sure I’m really going to ever like it…I don’t hate it so much but there are so many other things I’d rather be doing. Alas, my family needs my income.
This is too cool. Yesterday was my 40th birthday and I finally got a good camera…its a Canon Rebel XS EOS 1000D and it came with 2 lenses. I am so out of my element and it will take me a while to figure it out. I have taken some awful photos so far, and quite by accident a couple of amazing ones, so I am encouraged. I don’t have Photoshop or Lightroom….and I know I’ll be aching for them soon.
I loved this photography lesson…so interesting. I had no idea you could do what you did.
What an awesome birthday present! I got my new camera last month for my “birthday.” It’s not my birthday until December but I needed one for a class at school so I got to get it ahead of time
Fun stuff! (I can’t wait to get my hands on Lightroom, and to upgrade to the full real deal Photoshop! I do what I can with my old Elements, but… well… patience, it’s a virtue, right?)
I love that last pic of Stellan!
oh… ha ha. I totally DID miss the bloody lip! Sorry.
Bloody lip? Did I miss it?
What a talented woman you are!!! This was a very cool post
I love the pictures that you added texture to, they are spectacular!!! My husband is an artist, too. I can’t wait to show him the photos 
Enjoy your day 
Aren’t layers just the best? I tried to describe what I was doing to a friend who has never used Photoshop and now she probably thinks I’m cracked. I totally lost her…. She wanted to know and so I answered. Next time I’d better break out some “Photoshop for Dummies” lingo or something.
I’m not crafty, but I LOVE these photos. I can dream.
That pic of Stellan is insainly cute.
I love the texture! I can’t afford Lightroom myself (thanks for letting me PINE away now for it) but I use PS CS3 to add fun textures to my pictures. I really dig how your photos look through Lightroom though. I hope someday to get a chance to try it out myself, but until then, is there a way to do this as easily with PS?
Well that is awesome! Thanks for sharing. I love the way your editing turns out. I always feel like I have done too much or too little and can’t seem to tell when things look just right. Your photography is beautiful to begin with and the great editing just pushes it over the top!
Love the color(s) in that picture of Stellan! Makes me think of fall… Texas has cooled off, but it’s still green as can be.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!! I now have a great reason to give to my husband when I don’t delete pictures of nothing to him!! I was just wondering what PS had to play in this…it seems as though you opened the SOOC photo in PS but didn’t really do anything in there? Am I right? I just want to make sure I am not having a brain fart. I only have PS CS5, so I think I can also do all those steps in there, right?? Thanks!
It’s looking like when MckMama says photoshop she means photoshop elements not the actual program of photoshop. All of her edit is in Elements except when she converted it to black and white in Lightroom. But yes you can do the same stuff in photoshop it’s just a litttttle different.
Oh yes!!! I only have Elements!!! Sorry for not clarifying. And yes, there is a redundant step in my directions, too. Good catch!
Who knew you could do amazing stuff like this? Obviously you do!! Thanks for sharing your creativity! Today is my B-day. I was going to have lunch with a girlfriend, but it turns out she’s really sick, so I went and got a footlong sub from Subway a-la Big Mac style!
Happy Birthday!!!!!!
Thanks so much!!
I’ve never done that before. I love lightroom, absolutely LOVE it. I’ll have to try that sometime definitely. I took some great pics of my friend’s son the other day but I haven’t edited them yet. Maybe I’ll try textures for that. Currently I’m working on panoramic pictures comprised of 4-5 shots. That’s my digital photography assignment for the week. I’m so glad I have all the programs we have for the classroom on my computer. I’m not allowed to go to class this week since I have the flu so it gives me lots of time to sit on my laptop editing photos haha.
I’m so glad you did this post! Love it!
Thanks for the tutorial! Looks great!!!
Forgot to add, the textured photo of Stellan would look amazing printed on canvas!
Great lesson! I love the picture of Stellan. That texture works great with those colors.
Love the pictures of both boys…so cute!
Sorry about Nuggey’s lip, poor thing. Even though I don’t understand all the photography nerd stuff, it interests me and I love how your pics come out (‘course I also like them SOOC but you know… 
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the lessons! I love that certain folks have such gifts.
What a fun tutorial! I will have to give this one a try!
Thanks for all of the Lightroom lessons. I bought it a few months ago, and am addicted! It makes photo editing so much easier, faster, and certainly more fun. I still use Photoshop a bit, but not nearly as much as Lightroom.
I don’t even know how you THOUGHT of that! Only an art teacher..
and plus, Stellan’s teeth are just so cute!! 
I know what you’re thinking… “What is up with her and teeth!?” HA!
very cool! don’t have a fancy editing program though. i know picknik has some cool stuff but you gotta pay to do all the fancy stuff!!! great ideas though!
Another way to remove the textures from faces/skin/anywhere else you don’t want to leave it is using the Layer Masks. They work great as well, though they tend to dull out the colors a wee-bit. I’ve downloaded tons of free textures offline, but never used photos of my own. Great idea! And the photo of Stellen is just beautiful!!
Ooh, sounds interesting! I’ve heard of doing it that way, but don’t really understand how. If you feel like explaining, I’m all ears!!!
Layer mask tutorials:
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2008/04/08/video-tutorial-layer-masks-part-1/
&
http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2008/04/11/video-tutorial-layer-masks-part-2/
This is how I do textures. There is also another way where you use gausian blur – start by lassoing around your subject where you want to erase the texture and then set gusian blur on that selection – this is espcially a good way if your texture has a lot of color that you want to retain, but just lose the texture in that part.
The layer mask is pretty awesome. To create one just click on the layer you want it on (The concrete) then click the layer mask button the bottom of the layers panel. It’s the grey square with a white circle in it, next to the fx button. The layer mask works in black and white. Just paint over the areas you want to show with white and the areas you don’t with black. Shades of grey adjust the opacity.
It’s really helpful because if you delete too much with the erase tool, you have to undo to get back. If you do too much with the layer mask, you just paint over in the opposite color.
Thanks for explaining ladies! The tutorials you linked are fab. There are some really great ones, especially on how to use layer maskes, at Paint The Moon: http://paintthemoon.net/blog/videogallery.php?GalleryID=20&GalleryName=Tutorials&OrderNum=1
Hope to see more Textured photos from you MckMama! You’re photos are already fantastic, but textures are my favorite…they’ll surely send yours over the phenomenal.
Wow! I cant believe that is even possible! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing a GREAT idea! It’s this time of the year that I get asked to help do MANY MANY Christmas cards for friends/family… might just implement this one!
Well, be sure to share with me if you end up trying this out, girl!
AH HA!!! I FINALLY understand one of these lessons LOL. Not because of you, but because I am fancy photo-program illiterate. I LONG to be crafty with Photoshop and Lightroom and whatever else there is, but dang they seem soooo overwhelming to do the neat things like you show. BUT THIS, THIS explanation, my little head (actually, we will say brain, LOL, I have a huge head in my opinion, sorry totally unrelated) actually understands SO THANK YOU : )
Oh, I’m so glad! It took me a LONG time to really grasp all this stuff, too.
I really think the whole “layers” thing had me the most confused. Everything I would try to figure out said “layer” this and that and I was like, UM WHAT IN HADES IS A LAYER?!?!! To think, it is not really that complicated. Well thanks for making me feel smart today : )
Booo I still don’t get it, I feel like my head is going to explode
! Ugggg, I SO want to learn PS, but just can’t seem to get it. Help MckMama, more lessons please 
!
Love the picture of Stellan, very cool.
Thanks!
Love that picture of Stellan at the end! Some day I will find time to do this with my pictures!! Some day!
oohhh…I so want to get my hands on lightroom! Since I am a teacher, I can get it at a teacher rate on the website “academic superstore”…retailing around $300, I can get it for $99…isn’t that awesome??! I’m screaming “Christmas present”…or just a “Tuesday present”.. thanks for the tips!
–Katie
I just ordered mine from there with the academic discount. I love it!!!