Digital Camera - Ken Gilbert

ON YOUR
DISC
STEP BY STEP
Applystylish texture
effects to your photos
There’smoretocreating an artistic image
than simply shooting an accurately
exposed imagethat’sbeen well focused
and composed. To give a photograph
real feeling, you’ll need to try and evoke
asense of mood. Combining or ‘layering’ several
images together is an excellent way to achieve this.
It isn’texactly anew idea–photographershave
been doing it for years–but it’sagreat way to add
another dimension to your work.
The layering process used to involvecomplicated
in-cameramultiple exposures or evenmore
difficult-to-master darkroom skills. But these
days, the digital darkroom makes things simple.
In this tutorial we’ll showyou justhow easy it is
to get amazing results with minimum hassle. We’ll
show you step by step how to create an image
using multiple layers from several different shots,
including our main imageofanude model, a
textured abstract imageand afilm effect border
– all of which are available on this issue’s disc.
We’ll then explain howtouse Photoshop’s
layers,Blending Modes, Adjustment Layers and
Layer Masks to get the finished effect.
NEW HEIGHTS
Daunted by working with Photoshop layers?
Don’t panic, it’s not nearly as complicated as it
sounds. And onceyou’ve masteredthese skills
you’ll find thatyour repertoireofpost-processing
techniqueswill give youthe confidencetotake
your photography to new creative heights.
PhotoshopSchool
APPLY TEXTURES TO YOUR PHOTOS
Ben Brain shows you how to get creative with layers, Layer Masks,
Blending Modes and Adjustment Layers (and an old roasting tin!)
HOW TO… Use layers to create texture and depth
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Photoshop Elements 8or
Photoshop CS, or above
WHATYOU’LL LEARN
Howtouse Photoshop’s layers,
Blending Modes and masks to give
your portraits a creative makeover
IT ONLY TAKES 30 minutes
Photographing your subject
1This technique will work well with a variety
of subjects, from flowers and nudes to urban
abstracts and still lifes. However, we decided to use a
model for an artistic ‘implied’ nude. If you don’t have
access to a willing model, try joining online groups
such as Model Mayhem (www.modelmayhem.com)
or One Model Place (www.onemodelplace.com).
To light our model, we used a basic home
studio set-up (see image, left) with one flash light,
a large soft box and a plain black background. The
results were simple but effective.
Our texture is actually a photo of the base of an
old roasting tin. It’s always good to keep an eye open
for interesting textures and build an archive for later
use. Failing that, go to our website, www.photoradar.
com, and download some of the free high-resolution
textures currently on offer. We created the border
from scratch in Photoshop, but there’s also a
selection available for free from our site.
DigitalCamera July2010
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