1) Find a TextureObviously, to be able to photograph a texture, you first need to find it. Finding simple textures is very easy. They are all around us and you don’t have to go far to find them – you could photograph everything from a brick wall to grass in your backyard. Finding unique, beautiful and eye-catching textures, on the other hand, is hard. But once you start looking for patterns and textures, you will start noticing them a lot more all around you and you will eventually start encountering textures that are more unique and beautiful than others and you will soon get a feel of what is going to look good in a photograph.
2) Create a TextureIf you are too lazy to find a texture, create one! You could try oil painting with vibrant colors or find pebbles of different colors and textures or experiment with sand and water…you get the idea! Just find something that can create a texture and experiment over and over again until you get a good result. Do not forget about the importance of having depth in your textures – in comparison to uneven and rough surfaces, straight and smooth surfaces rarely look good in photographs! Shadows communicate depth and dimension of a texture, so make sure that your textures have shadows. Without shadows, your texture would look like something drawn on a piece of paper. At the same time, watch out for very dark shadows and overexposed areas, as those might actually spoil the texture.
3) Ambient Light or External Light?If you are outside, sunlight is one of the best light sources for textures, especially close to sunrise and sunset, when the light rays hit objects at an angle. Bright sunny days are the best, whereas cloudy days can create a soft, diffused light that will eliminate or soften up the shadows, removing the sense of depth and dimensionality from your textures. For indoor texture photography, an off-camera light is pretty much a must, unless you have another light source that can light up the texture (such as a large window). By placing your light source at an angle on the side of the texture, you can imitate sunlight. You can also experiment with gels to add a color to your texture. Most of the time, a single light source is sufficient, but there might be situations when you want to add multiple shadows, in which case more external lights might be needed.
4) Play with Angles and Depth of FieldA straight picture of a texture might be boring, so try to play with the angles. Open up the aperture of the lens to its maximum value (on prime lenses it can be as large as f/1.2, while on zoom lenses it is typically between f/3.5 and f/5.6), which will make the depth of field very shallow, shoot at an angle and see how you like it. Play with the depth of field by simply increasing the aperture value to a higher number.
5) Mix and MatchTextures of the same color and pattern can sometimes be boring. Try to mix your texture with other colors and patterns by either adding them yourself, or by locating a boundary of one color/texture colliding with another. Those collisions can look amazingly beautiful and they introduce an interesting twist to your picture.
6) Look for Uniformity and/or Straight LinesRepetition of patterns is what creates a uniform texture. Those patterns can be everything from curves to straight lines. While working with curves, circles and other shapes, try to locate the ones that look somewhat similar or the same. The below image of Sand Dunes, for example, is not very uniform, but the lines still run from top to bottom in parallel, making it look interesting.
7) Look for Shapes and ReflectionsIn some cases, you might find a pattern that resembles something – whether it is an everyday object or a living being. If you notice such resemblances anywhere, don’t forget to take a picture! In some cases, you might even encounter shapes that might look like multiple objects, making the photograph even more attention-grabbing. Still water or a mirror can also create stunning results with reflections, so I would definitely experiment with those, if you can.
2) Create a TextureIf you are too lazy to find a texture, create one! You could try oil painting with vibrant colors or find pebbles of different colors and textures or experiment with sand and water…you get the idea! Just find something that can create a texture and experiment over and over again until you get a good result. Do not forget about the importance of having depth in your textures – in comparison to uneven and rough surfaces, straight and smooth surfaces rarely look good in photographs! Shadows communicate depth and dimension of a texture, so make sure that your textures have shadows. Without shadows, your texture would look like something drawn on a piece of paper. At the same time, watch out for very dark shadows and overexposed areas, as those might actually spoil the texture.
3) Ambient Light or External Light?If you are outside, sunlight is one of the best light sources for textures, especially close to sunrise and sunset, when the light rays hit objects at an angle. Bright sunny days are the best, whereas cloudy days can create a soft, diffused light that will eliminate or soften up the shadows, removing the sense of depth and dimensionality from your textures. For indoor texture photography, an off-camera light is pretty much a must, unless you have another light source that can light up the texture (such as a large window). By placing your light source at an angle on the side of the texture, you can imitate sunlight. You can also experiment with gels to add a color to your texture. Most of the time, a single light source is sufficient, but there might be situations when you want to add multiple shadows, in which case more external lights might be needed.
4) Play with Angles and Depth of FieldA straight picture of a texture might be boring, so try to play with the angles. Open up the aperture of the lens to its maximum value (on prime lenses it can be as large as f/1.2, while on zoom lenses it is typically between f/3.5 and f/5.6), which will make the depth of field very shallow, shoot at an angle and see how you like it. Play with the depth of field by simply increasing the aperture value to a higher number.
5) Mix and MatchTextures of the same color and pattern can sometimes be boring. Try to mix your texture with other colors and patterns by either adding them yourself, or by locating a boundary of one color/texture colliding with another. Those collisions can look amazingly beautiful and they introduce an interesting twist to your picture.
6) Look for Uniformity and/or Straight LinesRepetition of patterns is what creates a uniform texture. Those patterns can be everything from curves to straight lines. While working with curves, circles and other shapes, try to locate the ones that look somewhat similar or the same. The below image of Sand Dunes, for example, is not very uniform, but the lines still run from top to bottom in parallel, making it look interesting.
7) Look for Shapes and ReflectionsIn some cases, you might find a pattern that resembles something – whether it is an everyday object or a living being. If you notice such resemblances anywhere, don’t forget to take a picture! In some cases, you might even encounter shapes that might look like multiple objects, making the photograph even more attention-grabbing. Still water or a mirror can also create stunning results with reflections, so I would definitely experiment with those, if you can.
