DIGITAL EDITING
Still photography editing, compositing, and digital editing for marketing media
Digital editing projects are always fun and challenging for me, whether it’s for business or personal reasons. It’s like creating a reality, illusion, or even something fantastical. Oftentimes, it’s also just enhancing/adding to reality. Digital editing is also a means to create an idea or image that may not be immediately accessible or realistically possible.
The featured graphic is an example of a digital editing project I’ve done for a marketing campaign. It’s a full-page magazine ad that is tailor made for the client with a budget that didn’t include model and set photography. Instead, stock photography and other graphic elements were combined to create a unifying image.
To make the effect realistic, high resolution images were particularly selected with matching lighting. Color, tone, brightness, intensity and other details were adjusted to match each layer. Aside from the logo and the tagline, a total of 5 graphic elements were combined against a beige background with a gradation (indicative of the main light source coming from the top right). Where necessary, shadows with diffusion were also added to provide depth and reflect the soft light, making the elements blend naturally into the scene.
DIGITAL EDITING FOR TOY PHOTOGRAPHY
Still photography editing, compositing, and digital editing for realistic and cinematic effects
A particular focus of this passion project of mine is a manifestation of what I’ve always done as a kid: arranging my Star Wars action figures in dynamic poses and setting them in dioramas (real or imagined), then seeing them through particular angles as if to select the best view. My goal in photographing my Star Wars dioramas is to give them a cinematic look and feel, as if coming out of a movie scene through the use of digital editing programs.
My process involves selecting a scene from the films to recreate or re-interpret or even coming up with my own scenario. Then I arrange and pose the related figures, stage and block the scene, light it from different angles, and photograph it. After the image is uploaded on the computer, I edit it by touching it up, applying color correction and/or filters, and adding the necessary special effects. Whenever possible, I try to use practical “sets” whether it’s in nature, created out of practical materials, or both.
Sometimes, I photograph my dioramas in front of a computer screen (or edit into an existing photo). Using lighting equipment, I match lighting of the subjects as well as the angle of the camera to the background to create an accurate perspective. Then all elements are combined and digitally edited for a realistic and seamless look, which can be simple or complex.
To view more of my toy photography, see my gallery below or visit my Instagram account.
