Destroy Your Photos with Photoshop
Have you always wanted to make your photos look like they have been through hell and back? This one’s for the pyros out there. This tutorial will show you how to give your photos a burned, scratched and distressed look in 6 simple steps.
Step 1 Desaturate your Photo
Find a picture you want to destroy. I took this picture of downtown London while I was visiting Europe. Press Ctrl + Shift + U to desaturate your photo. If your image is your background layer, double click your layer to make it a new layer. Press Ctrl + T to free transform, scale down and rotate your image slightly.
Step 2 Find a Cool Background Image
Find a cool texture for your background image. I found this rust texture. Create a new layer and use it as your background. My background was competing too much with my image so I toned it down out of it by pressing Ctrl + U and lowering the saturation level.
Step 3 Sepia Filter
The next step is to give your photo a sepia tone. Go to Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter. Choose the sepia filter, make sure preserve luminosity is checked, and increase the density until you get a desirable look.
Step 4 Rip your Edges
This step is really fun. Double click on your photo layer to go to the layer style options. Apply a stroke on your image. Choose a nice burnt color, like a dark brown or a dark orange. Depending on your image size, your stroke width may vary; the key is to make sure it isn’t too wide. Click ok. Select the eraser tool and find a grungy brush.
Side Note: If you don’t see any dirty brushes click on the tiny little options arrow when you select the brush tool and load some different ones. You can also download some custom grunge brushes at brusheezy.
Make sure the opacity on your brush is 100%. Start erasing out the edges of your photo to give it a rough worn look. This is where randomness is important. Don’t stick to one brush. Keep switching brushes and erasing the edges. Try to make subtle changes in your edges. Once you’re happy, move on to the next step.
Step 5 Add dirt and scratches
Create a new layer on top of your photo. Select an earth tone color and use those same grungy brushes to paint some dirt on top. You can add as much or as little as you want. Change the blend mode to overlay and bring the opacity down to about 50%. You can also use the pencil tool and draw scratches on a new layer, just make sure to change the blend mode to overlay. Take the eraser tool and use a soft brush with a 25% opacity to knock back any scratches or dirt you think may be too strong.
Step 6 Burn
The last step is also a lot of fun. Select the burn tool and burn down the edge of your photo. Really burn down one corner. Select your background image and burn the same area near that corner. It now looks like the picture was burned more in that area. That’s it.
I hope you enjoyed completely ruining a good image as much as I have. Please feel free to comment, let me know if you get stuck so I can help. Feedback is always welcome.
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