My latest shoot was very impromptu. I had friends over to get unrelated work done, but towards the end, I noticed my friend’s winter jacket looked really warm and soft. So I broke out my camera and decided to photographing it.
One of the perks of shooting with the fairy lights, is that you can really hide a subject in complete darkness while highlighting the parts that you want to see. My friend was unprepared to get photographed that day, so I decided to wrap the lights around her hood and in her jacket to make the fur and chest glow. Without the face, I think it comes off… ominous.
The three photos show my editing process for this picture. The fairy lights give me a blank canvas – not a lot of different colors to play with. So I decided to take it and make my own aesthetic for each one. First, a cozy, warm glow that is very similar to what the lights look like in real life. Second, an icy, ghostly light blue/grey. And lastly, a “cotton candy” blend of pink, blue and green. It’s rare that I have this much creative freedom with editing. I don’t usually like manipulating colors too far off from what it is in the camera. But this one of the situations where I made an exception.
Sometimes I worry about the things I put my friends through for pictures. But in the grand scheme of things, I think its not too bad.
Andy Chen Photography 