More than Photography

This method is a quick and simple way to spice up any photo. The best photo choice to use with this technique is practically any photo you like and want to add a special touch to.

The first thing to do is make a quick painting on canvas, and if this part of the process leaves you feeling intimidated, all I can say is: don’t be. Since all you are doing is creating a background layer for your photo the painting does not need to be a masterpiece, just something simple that pleases your eye. If it makes you feel better I, myself, had never done any painting on canvas before and had quite a bit of fun experimenting with it.
Here is an example of a simple painting I made: painting on canvas

It’s a good idea to use an unframed canvas panel no larger than 8” X 10” so it is easy to scan when it’s dry.
You can use any type of paints that work on canvas; I like to use acrylic paints since they dry quite fast.

Next, scan your work of art at 300dpi and open your photo editor.
Now, open the photo you wish to enhance and make sure your layer palette is visible (Paintshop Pro: View/Palettes/layers or F8. Photoshop: window/layers or F7).
Place your scanned canvas painting onto a new layer above the photo layer and blend both images by playing with the transparency settings until you like what you see.

You can find this photo process and many others in my new book: So Much More than Photography – eBook edition is now on sale for $10 .