Features Texture Screens An Alternative Processes Sampler Profile: David Michael Kennedy Rf Cookbook An Alternative to Paper Proofs Profile: Masami Mori Inkjet Masterpieces Profile: Albert Koetsier ICC Profiles Columns Insight/ On the Cover First Exposure: Canon i960 Lab Profile: Buckeye Color Lab Digital Photography First Exposure: Hasselblad H1 Departments Industry News New Products Problems & Solutions The Last Word Archives

Rangefinder Magazine
June 2004

Texture Screens by Craig Kienast
In the 21st Century

Moss-covered granite—hard light mode in layers

My vacation photos have taken on a different look these days. My wife, Brenda’s, are still the same. She focuses on the beautiful fountain, the majestic mountain or the exciting city lights. I, however, focus on the peeling paint of the fountain, the cracks and veins of a rock in the mountain or the stain on the side of the parking garage in the big city. She captures memories; I capture textures.

I had begun noticing works of art and ad campaigns, all featuring images overlaid with textures. I liked the look, so I sent myself on a safari. Camera in hand, crisscrossing the country, the hunt for the right textures had begun. The trial-and-error method teaches that not all surfaces generate a texture usable for this style of imagery. So if you decide to go on the hunt yourself, be prepared to capture, and subsequently delete, hundreds of images before you get the knack and the eye for the right texture.

Marble trash can—vivid light mode in layers

I prefer surfaces with a greater latitude of gradation—a greater range of contrasts between lights and darks. Stains in concrete have this quality, as do marble tiles with their light and dark veins. (If you’re not a fan of trudging around the countryside looking for textures, we offer a CD with 200 textures on our web site, www.photock.com/.)

With a hard drive full of rocks, sidewalks, pealing paint, and bricks, it was time for me to figure out what to do with them in Photoshop.

Twenty years ago, when you wanted to do something different with your images, you could go to your local camera store and buy a package of texture screens, or you could take a sheet of tissue paper or some other transparent material and tape it to your negative carrier. For those of you who are new to the business, negatives are what you get when you use film instead of compact flash cards.

These texture overlays can be used with color and black-and-white images. Start by opening the main image, the portrait, in Photoshop, followed by one or more texture files. Now copy and paste the texture over the main image. At this point any similarities with the old world way (film) of doing things are left behind. You could simply go to your Layers Palette, drop the opacity of the texture layer to 50 percent, and be done with it… but the results would leave a lot to be desired. Rather than using that approach, highlight Normal Mode in the Layers Palette, and, using the arrow keys, run through the different modes to see just what happens to the image. The image will take on various grades of translucency, color shifts, and opacities, depending on the mode.

Marble floor tile—linear light mode in layers	Sandstone tile—hard light mode in layers	Stains on a wall in a parking garage—overlayed in the hard light mode

When you find an effect that grabs you, it’s time to fine-tune it. Sometimes I like the texture effect to run through the entire image, including the face. Other times I want to limit the effect on the face and other parts of the photograph, or, more correctly, the “art piece.” Once you manipulate the image to this degree, it ceases to be a photograph, and it becomes something more. To bring back detail to those areas, create a layer mask and paint detail back into the image in areas where you, the artist, deem it necessary

Terracotta pot—overlay mode in layers (layers with mode and opacity shown)	Marble floor tile Bellagio, Las Vegas—linear light mode in layers

Now it’s time to finish the image. I trim it with a border or a drop shadow, or I leave it as is. I print the final image on canvas or watercolor paper on an Epson 7600 printer and have the art piece on an easel for the clients enjoyment when they come in to order there “normal” portraits. This style of imagery is definitely not for everyone, but you would be surprised at how many people like the opportunity to purchase fine art for their families.

This whole project has been a growing experience for me as an artist. I can’t wait to see where tomorrow takes me.

All images captured on a Canon 1Ds, lens on all portraits was a Canon ultra sonic 28-105mm
All textures were taken with a Canon 100mm Macro

Craig Kienast owns IMAGES by Craig, a working photography studio in Clear Lake, IA. Craig’s web site (www.photock.com) offers many ideas for professional photographers as well as easy-to-understand instructional materials.