This little leaf cluster caught my eye amongst all of the dried tree branches against the lovely snow and mud background. They just looked so vibrant and alive. And as soon as I saw the photo on the LCD I knew I wanted to do a texture treatment with it. Like always, I just wasn’t sure which way I was going to go.
I usually start out with a texture that I think would work best for the scene and play with the layer styles and opacities. That process usually dictates how I’ll go from there. If the original texture just doesn’t work, I’ll try another and start all over. Or I may add other textures but change the dominant one. Then I’ll add other textures to enhance the color or to make the image lighter or darker. Again, all the while experimenting with styles and opacities and using layer masks at times to remove portions of some textures on detail areas.
Finally when I think I am done, I’ll merge the layers and finish off with some minor contrast and brightness tweaks for the final image. I’ll save a large jpg image but I don’t save the Photoshop file where I can change it later. Once it’s done it’s done. If I decide to try it again I just start from scratch.
Scratch, as in thorns.
© David Guidas
What I Pic 
Very lovely. The texture works really well here and is nicely done.. Not having used Photoshop myself this seems rather difficult to do?
Thanks Neil. I was going to emphasize how quick the whole process was but it was late and I forgot. Everything I described is done in about two minutes, not including staring at the screen and deciding where to go next.
Your editing and additional texture work well here – the image really benefits from it. Interesting that you never keep an editable PSD – I keep everything!
I like to think of them as paintings. Once they’re done they’re done. Like a painting, I could probably recreate them but they won’t quite be the same.