Ways to use art images and blend modes in Photoshop

In creating my lens-based art pieces I will often find textures form many places, including art museums. You can find strokes and color palettes with which to work.

Gathering the textures

A visit to an art museum can yield lots of textures. I find small sections of an art piece and photograph them. Look for tight patterns with either similar or very differing colors, as they work in very disparate ways when invoking Blend Modes in Photoshop. Also watch for old cracking paint — that can add a feeling of age to a work.

Once you start experimenting with this technique you’ll watch for the types of colors and patterns that work for you.

Blend Modes primer

In Photoshop, open your base image. Add a texture. Cycle through the Blend Modes. WYSIWYG — what you see is what you get! When you find something that strikes your fancy, stop a moment. Possibly change the opacity to change the strength of the blend. Add a copy. Flip it. Cycle through Blend Modes again.

If you are digging the effect almost everywhere on the image, you can use the Clone Tool to copy some from one section to another. Or add a Mask and take it away for the offending area.

Add more textures while trying more Blend Modes.

Play, play, play!

The best way to learn this process is to get in there and keep asking yourself “What happens if I do this or add that?” Remember — with Photoshop you can’t “hurt an image.” Make a copy and have at it.

Here’s the biggest tip. As you work, any time you see something that looks good to you, save a version. It can be very difficult to get back to a look you enjoyed after continued changes.

You can also take a different version you have made, flatten it and layer it on another copy and use a mask to add parts of it you like. Most of all have fun! You’ll be quite surprised with what you create.

Yours in Creative Photography, Bob