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01/31/2015 - Sunrise At Sea

1/31/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/31/2015
Sunrise At Sea

Sunrise At Sea Texture
Picture
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  
Commercial Use OK.
I really didn't intend on using Today's Daily Texture "Sunrise At Sea" with this cat photo.  But when I saw her yellow-green eyes with a tiny spot of turquoise blue showing, I realized it matched this texture perfectly!  So my example today is my cat Peanut, but I probably will also pair this texture with some of my water bird photos, and I might even use it with a dog in my dog series. :)

To achieve this look with Peanut, I placed the texture on top and masked it off her body and face.  Then I duplicated that same texture layer, and set it to multiply at 100%.  Then I duplicated it again and set it to overlay at 100%.  After merging all the layers, I did a brightness adjustment to the completed image.
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01/30/2015 - Fields of Gold

1/30/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/30/2015
Fields of Gold

Fields of Gold Texture
Tiger In The Golden Field
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  
Commercial Use OK.
Today's Daily Texture {background} is a glorious field of gold with a horizon line and sky in the background.  This one is another perfect choice for those zoo animals you've photographed in the glaring sun.  {One of these days, I *will* get to the zoo on a cloudy day!}  Here I've masked out a tiger I photographed at the zoo and added him as a new layer on the top of the texture background.  I blended the texture over his feet so he looks realistic in the field.  I also lightly masked away some of his body {which in turn reveals the underlying texture}, especially over the areas where the sun was making very bright highlights on his fur.  This toned down the highlights and made them more golden than white.  In the end, I duplicated the texture layer and put it on top {in layer mode soft light at about 30%} to enrich the color tones a bit.  To finish it out, I merged all, then duplicated the image.  On the duplicated layer, I used Topaz Lens effects to add a neutral density adjustment on the bottom portion of the image {which darkened the ground around his feet} and also using Lens Effects, I added a gold reflector light adjustment to the left on the image, so the gold light illuminated his face more.

Below are two more images I've made using this texture.  
Hawk On The Run
Redtail In The Field
You might notice the above two images have a different look to each.  Using Topaz Restyle {part of the suite of Topaz software...which by the way, is well worth every penny you will spend on it if you purchase it}, I changed the color tone of texture layer to better suit my original images.  When you first play with the Restyle module, you might notice the colors are quite deep and harsh or overly saturated.  There is an opacity adjustment slider...I usually bright the opacity down to about 50% or less, so the color change is not so glaring and looks more realistic.  

The hawk being chased by the crow was photographed against a blue sky.  Using Restyle, I chose a color tone variation which had more blue in the sky and more green on the ground, and I placed the bird's wings upward toward the blue sky.  This was just a way for me to cheat a little on the masking around those wing feathers. :)  If you have blue sky around wing feathers, and you place the wings over a blue area of background, you don't have to fiddle with the mask as much to get them to look right.

The other hawk was also photographed on a blue sky, so I had to spend more time on him to get rid of the blue edging around the wings.   Since he had a deeper brown tone to his colors, using Restyle again, I chose a color variation of the texture which was more earthy-brown in nature.   His brown body over the original golden field was not appealing...now since the texture layer is toned more like his feathers, he looks like he belongs better.  I also added a gold reflector adjustment {Topaz Lens Effects} on the right and the bottom of the final image, so the field would pick up that golden glow in the same areas his feathers were picking up the glow of the sun.

TIP:  Changing the color tones of the texture/background can give you entirely different looks, all using the same texture!
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01/29/2015 - Berries In The Sun

1/29/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/29/2015
Berries In The Sun

Berries In The Sun Texture
Spring is on the way here in Tennessee, so I thought I'd release a lovely spring texture today!  "Berries In The Sun" has a variety of spring colors in yellow, green, pink and purple.  I used this texture on the lovely little Robin eating berries below.  I masked the texture strongly off the bird, but only gently masked it off the berries in the background...just to show a hint of his surroundings.  I also used this texture on Spring Cherry Blossoms.  I masked the texture softly away from the center of the flowers, but left the texture very strong everywhere else.  Then I duplicated the main texture layer, placed it on top and mirror-imaged plus flipped it to change the orientation of the texture coloring around.  Then I set that layer to overlay at 100% to make the photo pop with vibrant color.   So who else is ready for Spring? 
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  Commercial Use OK.
Berries In The Woods
Spring Cherry Blossoms
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01/28/2015 - Autumn At Rivers End

1/28/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/28/2015
Autumn At Rivers End

Autumn At Rivers End
Fall Flight - Bald Eagle
Like this texture/background?  Buy it here for only $2.
Commercial Use OK.
Today's Daily Texture is another painted background scene filled with the vibrant colors of the Autumn season.  You can use this texture as a background for your subjects as I did here, or you can overlay this texture using various layer modes to bring these brilliant fall colors into your photograph.  

Today, I used it as a background scene for an eagle in flight {no surprise there!}.   I masked out the eagle and placed him on top of the textured background.  I also had a nice photo of a buck I got yesterday, so I decided to integrate him into the art in the background.  He was a bit bright for the scene, so I blended away some of his fur to reveal the texture underneath, and then using the burn tool, I darkened him up more.  But something was missing...it took me a few minutes to figure it out, and finally it dawned on me.  If the TREE COLORS are reflecting in the river water, then the deer should also have a reflection!  I duplicated his layer, and then flipped him upside down, pulling the duplicate layer down over the water.  Then I lowered the opacity of that layer to 28%, which just gave a hint of his reflection in the water.  It still wasn't quite right, however, because the reflection was too accurate...too sharp.  I found a motion blur tool in Topaz Lens Effects and applied that to the reflection layer, which now made more sense.  


TIP:  Always look at these things when making a composite of your photographs to ensure things make sense to the viewer:  1) The light and the direction it's coming from in both your background and subject - does it match up?   2) Shadows - would your subject be casting a shadow?  3) Reflections {should there be one - if a water scene} and 4) Color tone...if the background has a WARM color tone as this does, make sure your subject also has a warm color tone and not cool.  

In the beginning of this image, the eagle had a cool color tone -- after placing him in the scene, I saw that did not make sense.  Using Topaz Adjust, I gave him a warm color tone and now he looks like he is truly at home in this scene.
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01/27/2015 - Tea At The Mansion

1/27/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/27/2015
Tea At The Mansion

Tea At The Mansion Texture
All Dolled Up - Shih Tzu Art
Today's Daily Texture is filled with soft muted mauve, gray, cream, and golden tan.   I used this texture on my next image in my Spirit of the Dog series, All Dolled Up, featuring a sweet Shih Tzu with a pink bow in her hair.  First I masked out the dog, keeping my focus on her pink bow.  I didn't want any texture over the bow, as I wanted it to be a focal point.  After gently masking texture off the edges of her fur, I duplicated the texture layer and set the layer mode to overlay at about 70%.  This made the colors a bit richer and gave a little more light play in the upper right corner.  Since she had light on her face from that area in her original photo, I wanted to match that light up with the lightest area in the texture.
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  
Commercial Use OK.
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01/26/2015 - Storm Rolling

1/26/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/26/2015
Storm Rolling

Storm Rolling Texture Background
Through The Rolling Storm
I love stormy skies!  Today's Daily Texture offers you a bit of that, a hint of mountains in the background, and a horizon line {if you want to add a subject on "ground level"}.  I thought this was the perfect texture for this photo I had recently taken of an eagle flying away from me.  
Picture
The background was very easy to mask away from the eagle due to the nice clean lines of the eagle's body and wings.  I also lightly masked away some of the edges of his wings to blend the texture background with his feathers, and it also gives a foggy/dreamy effect.  To finish things out, I duplicated the texture layer and made it the top layer, setting it to multiply at about 30%.
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  
Commercial Use OK.
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01/25/2015 - Midnight Rouge

1/25/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/25/2015
Midnight Rouge

Midnight Rouge Texture
Pair of Finches
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  
Commercial Use OK.
Today's Daily Texture is dark and rich with velvety hues of deep maroon red.  I knew as soon as I finished this one, it would be a perfect compliment for some of my house finches -- specifically the males, as they have a gorgeous reddish/purple color tone which would blend well with the texture.  Placing the bird photo on top of the original texture, I masked out the background behind the birds, revealing the texture underneath.   I very lightly masked away some of the edges of their feathers as well, to bring the texture "into" their body.   I was going to add another layer of the texture on top, but it made the birds too dark, so I scratched that idea.  Instead, I added a gold reflector adjustment {using Topaz Lens Effects} across the top of the image to add a bit more glow.  Afterwards, I brightened the entire photo a bit more to bring out that lovely glow and the glint of light in their little eyes.  Aren't they just sweet?
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01/24/2015 - Elephant Dreams

1/24/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/24/2015
Elephant Dreams

Elephant Dreams Texture
Today's Daily Texture is a neutral one featuring browns with a touch of gray, and a creamy white area useful for casting light on your subject.  Which comes in handy when you have a subject like this, photographed in direct sunlight.  Photographing in direct sunlight is something I really strive to avoid.  On the day we were going to the zoo, I checked the weather and it said it was going to be cloudy until noon, at which time the sun would come out.  We got an early start for the 1 1/2 hour drive, attempting to arrive at the zoo by 9am, which would give me 3 hours of photography time with no sunlight.  Well....about the time we pulled into Memphis, here came the sun, full force.  Sigh.  So much for that! 

So here's my original photo of an elephant, loaded with harsh sun shadows.  There's no good {or easy} way to get rid of them...it's best to just suck it up and work with them.  First I masked out the elephant, leaving the original texture beneath him.  Then it was time to work on this sunlight issue.  I had two layer modes in mind...multiply {which darkens things} and overlay {which makes things a little richer in tone AND brightens any areas with highlights}.  I duplicated the texture layer and placed it on top, setting it to multiply at 100%.  This brought in some darkness around the ground level...which I liked, but it wasn't enough to suit me.  So I placed another duplication of the texture layer on top, setting it to multiply as well, but only at 50%.  Now I was liking the ground level and the way his feet blended much better.  For a final step, I duplicated the texture layer yet again, and placed it on top of everything, setting it to overlay at 100%.  This made the light on his head/face/ears/back just glow, and gave the colors a richer tone.  I really, really love this outcome for an otherwise crappy zoo snapshot, so I'm calling this one DONE. :) 
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  Commercial Use OK.
Picture
The Elephant Emerges
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01/23/2015 - BackLit

1/23/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/23/2015
BackLit

Backlit Texture
It never fails...when you're at the zoo or a wildlife refuge center, unless it's a cloudy day, your photos will have some harsh sunlight or back lighting on your subjects.  This is because the subjects are in cages or enclosures, and unless the enclosure has a solid background, there will be light entering from the opposite side of where you're shooting.  Which was the case when photographing this Red Tailed Hawk at a wildlife refuge in Reelfoot, Tennessee.  As you can see from my original photo below, the light from the opposite side is coming in.  I walked around to the other side of the enclosure, but my photographic view from that side wasn't as good as it was from this side.  So I had to work with the light. 

It's a good photo "as is", but I didn't like those pesky cage bars in the background.  I could have chosen a grayish texture to keep things in tone with the original photo, but I love the warmth of sunlight, so I used today's Daily Texture - BackLit.  The first thing I did was mirror image the bird so the light on his face was lined up with the lightest spot on the texture.  TIP:  Always make sure the lightest spot on the texture/background matches up with the lightest spot on your subject, so the finished image will make sense to the viewer.  Then I masked out the background of the original photo, revealing the texture background layer I had placed underneath the bird photo.  I also lightly masked off the edge feathers of the bird, bringing the color of the texture into his feathers.

After finishing the masking, I duplicated the texture layer and brought it to the top, setting it to multiply at about 50% to give this image more depth.  Then I duplicated the texture layer again and brought that one to the top, setting it to soft light at 100%...this gave a little more punch of light to his facial area and eye -- but, it was way, way, way too yellow!   The solution to that was to fully desaturate the color on THAT LAYER ONLY, which left the light on his face where I wanted it, but took down the color tone to match the color of the other layers beneath.  TIP:  If any of your texture layers produce too much color...try desaturating that layer only and see if you like the results better!
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.  Commercial Use OK.
Picture
Red Tailed Hawk At Sunset
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01/22/2015 - Clouds By The Sea

1/22/2015

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The Daily Texture for 01/22/2015
Clouds By The Sea

Clouds By The Sea Photo Background Texture
Pelicans At Sea Ocean Art
Like this texture?  Buy it here for only $2.
Commercial Use OK.
Today's Daily Texture is perfect for your sea, ocean and water subjects.  I chose to pair it with a couple of my white pelicans I photographed at a local lake this past fall.  I have so many photos of these birds, and they all start looking the same after a while!  By using a variety of textures/backgrounds I can turn them into something unique which doesn't look the same as everyone else's photos of the same birds. :)

Here I simply masked out the two birds and a small bit of the water under them.  The texture layer was underneath, and because of the coloring of the texture, it blended very nicely with my original photo.  I then duplicated the texture layer and put it on top of the image, setting it to overlay at only 10% just to give the colors a bit more depth in the final image.
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    I have found a number of great video tutorials over the years on working with masking, layers and working with textures in photography.  These are some of the ones I've watched which I recommend:

    • Blend Modes & Masking in Paint Shop Pro

    • Photoshop Tutorial: Layers and Layer Masks for Beginners


    • Remask for Beginners by Topaz Labs

    • Remask 4 Tutorial by Topaz Labs

    •  Layer Masking in Photoshop With Textures

    • A Breakdown of Blending Modes | Photoshop Tutorial by Aaron Nace

    •Jai's Tips in This Blog
    •Quick Texture Masking Tutorial For Photoshop Users


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