Mobile Photography & Art – Tip of the Day with Susan Tuttle

When adding texture to my iPhone photo art, my general rule-of-thumb is to apply just enough texture to enhance the subject matter. The moment my eye begins to notice the texture(s) over the focal point of the piece, I know I’ve made it too strong and I need to back off some. I play with the opacity slider, attempting to find that “sweet spot,” where my creative instinct tells me I’ve “got it!” I refer to that artistic gut feeling as my inner ping.

Given this rule-of-thumb for myself, nine times out of ten I’ll use subtle texture applications on my photos. However, there are those rare times when an image calls for more intense texture, like in this recent iPhone photo art of mine, titled Joan. The heavy textural applications in this piece worked well in conveying the strong feeling and mood I wished to impart. When I composed this piece, I was thinking a lot about grit and what it means in terms of a personal trait. The heavy grungy textures helped to bring that sentiment out, I think.

In a nutshell, when it comes to texture, I recommend applying it in such a way that it enhances the subject matter as opposed to detracting from it. Most of the time, I think you’ll be drawn to subtle texture application, but of course be open to listening to your creative instinct and follow that gut feeling when it tells you to go strong with the texture.

‘Joan’ ©Susan Tuttle

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