How to Photograph Textures For Websites

It’s great to see how much the use of textures in websites has increased in the past months. They are an effective way of adding flavour and fun to the design. I love taking pictures of walls, bricks, or surfaces around the city and analyse the pattern that they bring to the whole subject. In this article I’ll share some tips that I try to put in practise when photographing textures.

Using Textures

In web design, textures are commonly used to give a touch of reality or even to bring a tactile sensation to the project. Textures can also be used as natural references for digital creations.

Photographing Textures

Taking a good texture photo is not rocket science – but there are a few tricks that can reduce the amount of post work on Photoshop.

The first one is angle. A parallel shot is normally what you are looking for – so try to keep in the same level as the surface. The second one is sharpness - a texture should be always well defined. If you want a blurry texture, it’s better to use effects and manipulate it later on, but always keep the original texture sharp. My third and final advice is to pay attention to lighting. When shooting outdoors photos, try different times of the day for different results. Cloudy days are usually the best as there is no direct light on the subject.

Samples

Here is a selection of texture photos available on my Flickr set:

Feel free to bookmark this set as I intend to frequently update it from now on. Cheers!

1. 

   Belle | September 8th, 2009
   

   Finally a good use for texture photographs. I spent two years in photo class looking at other student’s array of artsy, ‘meaningful’ texture photos. It’s all bullshit if you ask me. This is what they should be used for- websites and graphic design. XD

2. 

   Michael Krapf | September 8th, 2009
   

   Something i’ve never really put much thought to. Thanks for bringing new insight to an everyday topic.

3. 

   J Henderson | September 9th, 2009
   

   I like texture myself, I took a picture of my favorite jeans and used it fir my site. Although I have alot more work to do on my site I love your article on this new concept. I am beginning to take my camera every where I go, never know what I’ll see or like!!!

4. 

   Anaska | September 9th, 2009
   

   Thanks a lot for this post.
   The three tips — angle, sharpness, lighting — are very useful.

5.  

   How to Photograph Textures For Websites | Design Newz
6.  

   65+ Awesome Fresh Links for Designers and Developers | tripwire magazine
7.  

   65+ Awesome Fresh Links for Designers and Developers | huibit05.com
8.  

   How to Photograph Textures For Websites – J. Pedro Ribeiro | Adobe Tutorials