TABLE OF CONTENTS Texture is a traditional photographic visual element that is often overlooked when working digitally. All but the highest quality professional films have visible grain when they are printed. This is especially true when the print size goes beyond the standard 6 x 4 inches. In fact we are so familiar with the idea that grain is part of the photographic process that putting a little texture into an otherwise grainless digital picture can lend a traditional look and feel to the image.
Many photographers add a little texture to their pictures as part of their regular image editing process. Some go beyond this and produce photographs with huge clumps of grain that resemble the results often seen with prints made from old style high ISO films.
Suitable for Elements 6, 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0 Difficulty level Intermediate Resources Web image 6.36
Related techniques 6.37, 6.38 Menus used Filter
The simplest method for adding texture to your picture is to use the Add Noise filter (Filter > Noise > Add Noise). The feature is provided with a preview dialog which allows you to alter the Amount of noise that is added to the photograph, the style of noise Gaussian or Uniform and whether the noise is random colored pixels or just monochrome. As with most filters it is important to use this feature carefully as once the filter is applied and the file...
