Adding Texture

This little technique has always intrigued me and so I thought I would give it a try.  It's a simple process of adding textured layers on top of your photo and then experimenting with the blend modes.  I use Photoshop CS3.  I wanted to give this photo an aged appearance.  You will find some outstanding examples on Karen Chandlers lovely blog, Vision, plus  three links to free textures.

With baby Nate's arrival, I've been experimenting with a new technique to make my photos appear softer.  He is so pink and smooth and my camera can not seem to capture that image.  So here's the recipe:  Open photo and duplicate.

Turn off top layer and adjust levels on bottom layer to give a good contrast.  Each photo varies.

Turn on top layer and apply Glausian Blur at 25% reducing opacity between 30-40%.  Erase, at 100% the eyes and mouth.  You may want to erase other areas at a lesser opacity to bring out a little more detail.  Merge the two layers.

Set the color chips to black and white. Go to Filter>Distort>Diffuse Glow and make adjustments according to your preferences.  To make the layout pictured below, I cut out the upper right corner of the photo and applied a mask from Brandy Murry's Junk in the Trunk.  I've discovered that this technique works well on Grandmother's wrinkles (but keep that a secret!).

Now he looks like Grandma's eyes really see him.  (Getting a shot with his knee in just the right place was a challenge!)

I grouped all of the elements and merged them together.  I then applied this technique to the cluster as well to give the entire page a more gentle appearance.  The products used are Brandy Murry's Love, Honor and Cherish, Cloudscape Paper, Scattered Gold Embellishments, Bees Knees, Swirls and Pearls2, and Persian Lace Paper.