Textures in editing can lift your images. In digital photography, a texture is simply an extra layer added to your image during editing to give texture such as paint, wood, paper, watercolour, bokeh, etc., to the background. For images with backgrounds that do nothing for your image – you can elevate them to fine art with the addition of textures. You can make your textures by using images of textured subjects, scanning old papers, or making them in Photoshop. In this post, we will go through how to use them. I have also included a free pack of 9 hi-res textures for you to download.

Suitable Images

Images that work well for this type of digital work are portraits – be they human or animal, and flowers. You can still add a texture to a landscape – but in that instance, it’s usually entirely over the top and done a bit differently. I will cover that another time.

Using Textures

You need to open two images – your main image and a texture. I am using a rose I photographed and one of the textures in the pack. With both images open, you need to layer the texture over the top of the main image. To do this, hit Ctrl-A on a PC to select and then Ctrl C to copy. (Cmd A and Cmd C on a Mac)

Step by Step

Next, go to your main image and hit Ctrl V/Cmd V to paste the texture over the image. You will now have the texture over the top of the main image in your layers panel.

If the texture is different from your image, drag it to resize and fit. Then, click the eyeball on the texture layer in the layers panel to turn the texture off and expose the main image.

Next, click on the quick select tool. It’s the 4th one down on the left. Make sure your main image is active (it will have a box around it in the layers panel), and then click on select subject

Photoshop will look for the edges and select the main image. The less background behind it, the easier and more accurate it is. If you have to refine the edge, click on the + or – quick select icons to add or remove parts of the image.

Once you are happy with your selection, click the eyeball again to turn on the texture layer. You should see marching ants on your texture layer.

Nearly there!

Next – click on the (top) texture layer – it won’t work if you are still on the main image. Now go to Layer> Layer Mask > Hide Selection, and the area inside the marching ants will disappear and expose your rose – or whatever you are using.

Finally – take a small soft white brush at about 20-25% opacity and 70% flow, and go around the edges of the rose. Keep mainly to the texture and skim the edge of the rose. This will help your main subject slip into the background and look less like it’s placed on top. And that’s all there is to it! I hope you have fun with this technique – and the textures included.

Free Textures