Photoshop Finishing Touches

What Makes a Good Threshold Image

One of the techniques that we’ll use a number of times in the book is to convert a photo into a black-and-white pattern using a command called Threshold. Then we’ll use the resulting image in a layer mask, as a pattern, and as a border itself. The question is, what kind of image works best for these techniques? And the answer, as it often is in Photoshop, is “it depends.” It depends on what kind of effect you’re looking for and how subtle or dramatic you want the end result to be. The results you get will vary with the image you’re starting with, so let’s take a look at a few examples that hopefully will help you look at your photos in a new light (especially photographs that you might otherwise throw away). ...