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5 Ways to Make Your Texture Photos Pop!
Highlighting an important photographic element such as lighting, composition, or subject matter can make your photo attract attention. One of the most commonly overlooked elements you can focus on is texture.
Trying to show someone how an object feels can be as difficult as describing the colour green to a blind woman. It doesn’t have to be: I’ve got five simple steps for you to use and make your textural photos really shine.
Get in Closer…. Closer….
Unless the textured subject is massive, you’re going to have to get cozy. Use a lens with a shorter minimum focusing distance to get that one step closer. Ignoring the rule of thirds and letting your subject fill the frame can convey the feeling of being right up against an object. A photo of cracked plaster or old denim can make it feel like your subject is right at the end of your nose.
Remember, we’re trying to convey the sense of touch using only visual imagery. Put your camera where your hands would be in relation to the texture, rather than from eye-level. It’s a subtle trick, but people can pick up on it.
Shoot with a Lower ISO & Higher Aperture
The more noise you have in your shots, the harder it’s going to be for people to make out the quality of textures. In order to highlight the roughness and feel of any texture, you want to make sure everything is as sharp as possible.
Increasing your aperture to at least f/7.1 at least will make a big difference. If you’re in a low light situation, don’t be afraid to bust out the tripod. You’ll get much better results with a 1/2 second exposure at f/8 ISO 100 than you will with a 1/120th exposure at f/2.8 ISO 400.
If you absolutely must have a fast shutter speed to capture the moment, then it’s time to unleash the lights.
Use Light to Your Advantage
If you have lights, any lights, use ‘em! A hard light, coming from the side, can bring out texture in the flattest things. The sharp light falloff will bring out all the little divots and raised scratches in flaking paint or coarse fabric. Strobist has two articles on the subject that I recommend: Textural Lighting for Detail Shots and Assignment: Munchies.
If you aren’t at the stage where you have your own lighting equipment, don’t worry about it. We all have access to the biggest, hardest light source of all: The Sun! So don’t be shy about carting that aging end table out into the yard. Sure you might look ridiculous, but you’ll get the shot! Just make sure to go out at sunset; the angle of the light will be better and your wife can’t con you into painting it while you’re out there.
Avoid Using Noise Reduction
Noise reduction algorithms smooth out the luminance and colour variation between nearby pixels. This is great when you’re shooting something that should be a uniform colour or gradient. Unfortunately, noise reduction will suck out a lot of the textural detail you’re trying to preserve. However, if you followed my earlier advice and shot the photo at your lowest ISO, you shouldn’t need to worry about this. If you have to clean the noise up, create a Photoshop mask to ensure you’re not applying the filter to your subject.
Dodge the Highlights
This is a trick photographers have been using in the darkroom since time immemorial. By dodging the highlights, you can make the brights brighter without damaging the overall tone. Think of it like colourfast detergent for your photos.
Of course we don’t use detergent anymore, we use Photoshop. Used carefully, the dodge tool is an asset to any photographer. Be careful with the strength of this effect, I wouldn’t set it any higher than 3-8% unless you know what you’re doing. Heavy-handed use of the dodge tool can make a photo look over-processed and tacky.
Textural photos provide a unique challenge to photographers. It’s difficult to convey the feel of an object in a visual medium, which may be why this photographic element is so often overlooked. Not many photographers can highlight texture well, but the good ones stand out for miles.
Related Tutorials:
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Aaron Said,
July 6, 2007 @ 8:18 pm
I am a huge fan of texture in photography and I try to use it quite a bit in my work. I like the “dodge highlights” suggestion, and I would go a step further and say that curves adjustment layers with layer masks is another (somewhat more complicated) way to really bring out the contrast in a surface.
This one is just regular curves, no masks, no dodge or burn: http://www.fisheyegallery.com/Places/DeathValley/Long…
I love being able to get the really gritty texture up close and still keep everything in focus. Bright sunlight midday in Death Valley helps :)
Link Roundup 07-07-07 | Epic Edits Weblog Said,
July 7, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
[…] 5 Ways To Make Your Texture Photos Pop! @ Goldengod Highlighting an important photographic element such as lighting, composition, or subject matter can make your photo attract attention. One of the most commonly overlooked elements you can focus on is texture. These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
Andrew Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 3:00 am
You did not mention what lens produce best results for sharp texture. But I found your article of great use and interest
damon Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
Nice article, Andrew.
I’ve tried to show texture in my latest photo, but I think it could have been better.
I will have to work on my post production techniques, especially the dodge tool, which I have never been able to use properly.
Andrew Ferguson Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
@Andrew:
You’re right, I didn’t There’s no specific lens that will produce the best results.
Personally I prefer either a wide angle or macro lens. Standard zoom and telephoto lenses have a flattening effect when using them that doesn’t work well for enhancing texture.
Andrew Ferguson Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 4:13 pm
@Damon:
I like the shot! I notice you shot it all the way up at f/14 but at ISO 400 instead of ISO 100. Was there a particular reason? Your shutter speed of 1/320th should’ve been fast enough to allow you to use ISO 100 to capture more detail with less noise.
The dodge tool is tricky. I still haven’t gotten the hang of it terribly well, but I’m passable. The trick is to be very subtle about your modifications.
damon Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 4:22 pm
Andrew,
The photo in question (as with several from my site) was taken more than 12 months ago, in the early stages of my dSLR learning curve. I have never studied photography and before the 350D I had never had a camera with Manual mode. As a result, frequently my camera settings were a direct result of not understanding the basic photography concepts and shotting in Auto or (badly set) P mode.
With more reading and practice I’m slowly improving though! Learning from One’s mistakes is a very effective method of improvement.
Andrew Ferguson Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 4:29 pm
Really? That’s one of your early photos?
That’s impressive for someone just getting started :)
Do you post your photos on a site like Flickr as well, or just your own site?
damon Said,
July 8, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
I have a flickr account but don’t use it heaps. I didn’t want to have to pay for a Pro account and pay for hosting the site so I joined zooomr instead.
The plus side is that zooomr is unlimited without having to pay. The down side is that because it’s only new there are some teething problems and the community isn’t as big. I guess that’s the trade-off I have to live with until zooomr matures or until I buy a Pro account at flickr.