This graphic gets in the way of the photo too much. How can I achieve the same effect without taking away from the content?

Question

I've got a simple image slider on this site I'm doing. You can click through images, but I wanted it to really pop so I added a graphic element over top of the images to give some depth, like a folder piece of paper laying not he screen. I've worked on this for a while, and (I'm no graphic designer, but) I think it's beginning to look pretty cool...

http://tomasz.tossfiles.com/

The issue is that it detracts way too much from the images themselves, as cool as it is. Specifically the shadow in the middle of the photo.

If someone could put this through photoshop or tell me your ideas on how I could achieve a similar effect without it being such a distraction, help is MUCH appreciated. I'm no pro graphic designer, but I've used photoshop & pixelmator for years so I know my way around the software.

Here's the overlay graphic (in psd format): http://cl.ly/AyRR

And here's the image behind it (in jpeg format): http://cl.ly/AzG9

Thanks in advance! ~ Jax

Answer 1

You need to get rid of it altogether if only because the metaphor for a folded piece of paper doesn't make any sense when looking at photographs. The shadow graphic will always be a distraction from the actual art, no matter what opacity (amount of transparency) you use.

Since you are creating an interface that is a metaphor for a real-world object, you need to respect the content object itself. One does not typically fold photographs, especially before putting them in a portfolio.

Your interface should simply enable users to get to the content they need and not distract or deter from it. A photographer's site is about the photography, to display it in the best possible light, and nor show "creases" in the image. iPhoto builds websites with the angled drop shadow like you have, but the actual image itself is untouched.

Answer 2

Take everything Philip says. It's dead on.

From a designer's perspective, the "folded paper" has another problem: the obvious message is that the prints you will get from this photographer will be on thin paper, unmounted and folded!

In any design, always remember that every element in the design -- colors, typography, layout, white space, images -- carries its own message. All of these messages must: a) be correct for the client, and b) be in agreement with one another. In this case, the fold delivers entirely the wrong message. A slight curl implied by a drop shadow is okay, since even the best quality photo paper can have a slight curl unless mounted, but not a fold.