Everything you need to know about Texture
Texture enhances or reduces fine surface details and micro-contrast in your image without affecting larger tonal areas. This is ideal for bringing out fabric weaves, skin pores, architectural details, or conversely, softening skin texture for portrait retouching.
Parameters
- Strength
Controls how much of the texture adjustment is blended with the original image. At 0, no change is visible. At 1.0, the full effect is applied. - Texture Amount
Sets the direction and intensity of the texture adjustment (-1 to +1). Positive values enhance fine details, making textures more pronounced. Negative values smooth fine details, reducing skin texture and surface imperfections. At 0, no texture change occurs. - Detail Size / Radius
Controls which scale of details are affected (0.5–6). Lower values target very fine, small-scale details (pores, fine grain). Higher values affect slightly larger details (wrinkles, fabric patterns). This determines what counts as "texture" vs. background. - Soften
Adds an additional smoothing pass that softens the overall result. At 0, no extra softening. Increase this for a gentler, more diffused look – useful for portrait beauty retouching.
How It Works
The filter extracts fine details by subtracting a blurred version from the original (high-pass technique). These extracted details are then added back (positive amount) or removed (negative amount). The radius determines the blur size, which controls what scale of details are captured.
Common Uses
- Positive texture (+0.2 to +0.5) – Enhance fabric, stone, wood grain, architectural details
- Negative texture (-0.2 to -0.5) – Smooth skin, reduce pores, soften imperfections
- Small radius (0.5–1.5) – Target finest details (skin pores, film grain)
- Large radius (3–6) – Target medium details (wrinkles, fabric weave)
Tips
- For portrait retouching: negative amount (-0.3) + small radius (1.0) + soften (0.2)
- For landscape/architecture: positive amount (+0.3) + medium radius (2–3)
- Differs from Clarity – Texture targets finer details while Clarity affects midtone contrast
- Combine with Clarity for complete detail control at different scales