Editing Texture Images

This texture photography series has focused on defining texture photography, how to capture textures, examples of where to find textures, and now I will share some final editing techniques. The following tools can be found in most editing programs, and I will show examples using Adobe Lightroom. 

Editing Basics: 

Contrast: Contrast is a critical editing tool with texture images. It can enhance and bring out the details and definition in the image. Just giving the image a boost, in contrast, can make a good image great. 

Clarity: I usually raise the clarity to add additional definition to the texture. You can really boost this one a lot when working with textures. 

This is an example of how much contrast and clarity can impact your image. 

Color: Adjusting the color in your image is another way to showcase the features of the texture. Increase the saturation of the primary colors of the texture, while reducing the saturation of the non-primary colors. This will bring attention to the subject. Adding Luminance to the primary colors of the subject will make them pop, or you can reduce luminance to bring down any brightness. Think about where your light is in the image and use luminance to bring attention to that or reduce it. 

In this example, I wanted to bring out the curves, lines, and texture of the image. I wanted to showcase the plant as it was in the shaded garden. I used color to impact, by desaturating the greens, yellows, and then saturating the blue and red tones all impacted the final image. 

Tone Curve: Using the tone curve to bring depth to the mid-tones, adjusting the highlights and shadows is another easy tool that makes a big impact.

 In this example, I knew that there was texture in the image. Using the tone curve I could adjust the mid-tones of the image to bring out the depth and contrast. Just adjusting the blacks and whites was not enough. The tone curve allows you to also adjust the mid-tones. One small adjustment went a long way for this image. 

Convert to BW: Texture images look amazing in BW. The focus on just the contrast brings out the lines, patterns, and texture of the picture. Try converting to BW. I like to reduce the saturation of the image to remove the color and then work on other adjustments like contrast, clarity, and the tone curve. 

Keep it simple when editing your texture images. Clarity, Color, Contrast are the most critical components, and just little tweaks can make a significant impact. Convert to black and white to see if it brings out the texture even more and if the color is not critical to the image. Texture photography is about the emotions that you can bring out, showcasing the object, and telling our senses what it would feel like if we held it in our hand. 

Using Format