Learning the Art of Photography

As a fashion and lifestyle blogger, I’ve spent most of my blogging career in front of the camera. Last year, I picked up a camera and started learning the art of photography. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be.

I’ve been spending time directing, shooting, creating, and editing content. Everyday, I find myself learning something new. Recently, my cousin Brandon, who is also a photographer, relocated back to New York City and has been teaching me so many new tricks. All I want to do is shoot just so that I can edit.

Adobe Lightroom used to be my go-to editing tool until I sharpened my skills in Photoshop. Then, Brandon introduced me to Adobe Bridge and it changed my entire editing process. Wait… let’s back it up a few steps so that you can conceptualize my entire process from begin to end.

I shoot in raw, which is a file format. A camera raw image captures and records all image data from the camera sensor. It’s called a ‘raw’ file because it’s an unprocessed or an unedited image. When using JPEG and other formats image information is compressed and lost. In a nutshell, the raw format produces more detail, higher quality, and crisper images for both digital and print options.

After capturing the content in raw form, I upload the image into Adobe Bridge. Bridge is the central hub for Adobe Creative cloud. You can to creatively connect to the various Adobe applications such as Photoshop, iDesign, and Premiere Pro. Now that the Camera Raw editing tool runs in Bridge, I am able to work on files and images using all of the information recorded from the initial shot. I can apply more custom changes to the white balance, which includes temperature and tint. I can also adjust the clarity of the image. I love having the ability to work on each individual component of the image and seeing how one effects the other. After I’ve completed all of my edits, I save the file in .TIF format to preserve all of the information as well as have the option to print.

The next step and final step is to edit the .TIF file in Adobe Photoshop. I used to find Photoshop intimidating until I learned how to navigate through the application. It’s a lot easier than I expected. Whether I want to make major adjustments or minor changes, I am able to fine tune the image to my satisfaction.

Learning the Art of Photography

In the previous blog post, I mentioned working on more editorial and thought-provoking work. I’ve grown fond of dark tones, shadow play, and golden lights. There’s something mysterious yet intriguing about a moody image; it forces you to look deeper into the photo.

Being a creative director comes with it’s challenges like having to adjust your vision at the last minute. I always research and scout locations before the production day. On this particular day, the lighting of the venue changed about an hour into shooting. A major factor for the shoot was the lighting so when the owner changed the light I started to freak out. To my surprise, the darker venue worked in my favor.

The original raw files were a bright golden-orange color. To invoke a moody story, I reduced the temperature and increased the contrast and shadow. I wanted to give the illusion that the light was shining directly on me while standing in the dark. My other focus was the pinstripes on the jacket. Since the entire jacket isn’t always visible I increased the clarity of the image in order to sharpen the pinstripes, causing the pinstripes to pop under the shadows.

This expansion of my journey has been incredibly exciting. I get to be so much more creative.

I’m really looking forward to continuing to explore the art of photography.

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Wearing

Suit The Tailory New York | Custom | Shop here

Sweater Uniqlo | Men’s X-Small | Shop here

Hat Uniqlo | One Size | Shop here

Photos by Brandon K. Rhone

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