I'm a programmer, trying to create a good looking portfolio for myself. I have very little knowledge about graphic design, so please forgive me if I'm asking too broad questions.
I want to learn ways to convert a regular image, to a background image. What I mean is, If I find a beautiful image (say this one), it does not always go as a background. It has so many lines, colour changes etc, that the text on it cannot be read easily.
So I try to blur it, darken it, decrease saturation etc. But it simply does not look good.
I've seen people adding some "stripes" or "grids" on top of images, so they serve better as background images. Is there a name for such technique? Or is it up to me with trial and error in Photoshop ?
Thanks for any help!