3 Steps to Another, Speedy Grunge Effect

By Liz Ness · May 10th, 2011

· 18 Comments · Add to my favorites · Print

Related Tags: grunge, unsharp mask

One could argue that because I live in the Pacific Northwest (the birthplace of the grunge movement) that I can’t help but be drawn to the aesthetics of grunge. All I know is that I do, indeed, find myself experimenting and landing on ways to make my photographs a bit grungy often. Then again, there’s something about the Pacific Northwest lighting and scenery that just seem to lend themselves to the stripped down, organic, distorted visuals typical of grunge. It’s as if some of my photographs of the region taunt me, almost asserting, “I can be a bit edgy.”

But, let’s move on — before you think I’ve completely lost it and that I believe that my photographs can speak to me — to a discovery made last week: Grunge in three steps!

Step 1: Copy

Open your photograph in Photoshop Elements and press Ctrl-J (Mac: Command-J) to create a duplicate layer.

Step 2: Luminous Black-and-White

Select the copy, choose Enhance>Convert to Black and White>Newspaper and press Okay. Then, set the blending mode to Luminosity.

Step 3: Sharpen (Sort Of)

Select Enhance>Unsharp Mask and set the Amount to 100, the Radius to 250, and the Threshold to 0 and press Okay.

And that’s it — instant grunge!

Related Tags: grunge, unsharp mask

18 Replies to 3 Steps to Another, Speedy Grunge Effect:

Tony
May 10, 2011 at 8:26 am

it’s great, I do like this very much!
- Liz
  May 10, 2011 at 9:24 am
  
  Thanks Tony! (PS: I’ve been enjoying your photographs via your Flickr photostream a bunch, too!) =)
William
May 10, 2011 at 10:25 am

Thank you Liz for this tip! I’ve been looking for a way to create a Grunge Effect easily for some time and You Did It! :-) Not only is it easy, but the results are Great!
- Liz
  May 10, 2011 at 11:14 am
  
  Awesome! And, thanks William! =)
Julie
May 10, 2011 at 11:41 am

Thanks, Liz. Another quick and dirty effect. Very cool.

I noticed Tony started a thread at EV on this. ;-)
- Liz
  May 10, 2011 at 1:05 pm
  
  Thanks for the heads up, Julie — I’ll head on over to EV and take a look! =)
Karen
May 10, 2011 at 12:55 pm

Really cool and quick, too! I’ve never boosted the radius that high in Unsharp Mask. I’ll have to experiment more.
- Liz
  May 10, 2011 at 1:06 pm
  
  Thanks Karen! Unsharp Mask is one of my favorite tools. =)
Charlie
May 10, 2011 at 7:32 pm

Thanks,Liz. Something new for me to try.
- Liz
  May 10, 2011 at 8:32 pm
  
  You bet, Charlie! =)
Steve
May 11, 2011 at 1:08 am

Thank you Liz, another awesome tutorial!!
- Liz
  May 11, 2011 at 6:54 am
  
  =) Thanks Steve!
Deena
May 11, 2011 at 8:49 am

This is a very cool effect! Thank you.
francis
May 11, 2011 at 11:33 am

Nice one Liz .Did it to an old castle ,came out very distinct
Liz
May 11, 2011 at 1:04 pm

Thanks Deena and Francis!

And, Francis, I bet the castle looks AWESOME! =)
Joseph
May 11, 2011 at 6:08 pm

Great tip. Do know this.
Gisele
May 30, 2011 at 2:53 pm

Very cool, but I couldn’t figure out how to do this: “Then, set the blending mode to Luminosity.” Can you provide more detail (PSE9/Windows 7).

Thanks!
- Liz
  May 30, 2011 at 8:10 pm
  
  Sure, Gisele!
  
  In the Layers panel, there is a drop down list. Usually, the option set is Normal. When you select the drop down, you can scroll all the way down the list and there you’ll find the option: Luminosity. Select that by clicking on it to set the blending mode to Luminosity.
  
  Best wishes!
  
  =) Liz