How to Edit like these photographers?

M

MaxxVariant

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3
Name
Maxx
Edit My Images
Yes
Hey guys, My name is Maxx. I'm a photographer and filmmaker, and have been one for the past 3 years. I recently obtained my own studio where I do dark cinematic photography, and in recent times I've taken a liking to such photographers as "Vandergoff" and "Harris Nukem." You may have heard of these photographers, or maybe this is the first time you've heard of them. Their style is something I wish to achieve, or hopefully even learn from someone else. I'm not the most skilled in photoshop, which is why I've been wanting to take a class or talk to someone to learn this very aesthetic. It seems as though Vandergoff has obtained almost the exact same style that Harris has. I have literally hypothesized their style for almost 5 months, and I still can't quite figure it out. It's not just "Texture" and "Clarity" used in lightroom, it's something else, and it's a consistent style they use in all their photos.

So my question here today is... How can I get my photos to look as gritty, dark, and as Graphic Novely as their photos, or somewhat close? The editing makes these models look as though they came right out of a video game, and I'd love to obtain that style and get it noticed in the small town I'm in. Thanks!
 
MaxxVariant said:
Hey guys, My name is Maxx. I'm a photographer and filmmaker, and have been one for the past 3 years. I recently obtained my own studio where I do dark cinematic photography, and in recent times I've taken a liking to such photographers as "Vandergoff" and "Harris Nukem." You may have heard of these photographers, or maybe this is the first time you've heard of them. Their style is something I wish to achieve, or hopefully even learn from someone else. I'm not the most skilled in photoshop, which is why I've been wanting to take a class or talk to someone to learn this very aesthetic. It seems as though Vandergoff has obtained almost the exact same style that Harris has. I have literally hypothesized their style for almost 5 months, and I still can't quite figure it out. It's not just "Texture" and "Clarity" used in lightroom, it's something else, and it's a consistent style they use in all their photos.

So my question here today is... How can I get my photos to look as gritty, dark, and as Graphic Novely as their photos, or somewhat close? The editing makes these models look as though they came right out of a video game, and I'd love to obtain that style and get it noticed in the small town I'm in. Thanks!
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Perhaps a link to the style / photographers you’re looking to emulate so people don’t have to waste time searching for them
 
ecoleman said:
Perhaps a link to the style / photographers you’re looking to emulate so people don’t have to waste time searching for them
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I know, I know ... it's just first hit in the google in the end so let me do this "annoying" footwork for you

image — HARIS NUKEM

www.harisnukem.com www.harisnukem.com

Gallery | Vandergoff

www.vandergoff.com www.vandergoff.com

ps. what's more rude ? to say to somebody "not waste my time with your casual questions" or to "dare to not provide links that are obtainable in first hit in ggl" ?
 
ntz said:
I know, I know ... it's just first hit in the google in the end so let me do this "annoying" footwork for you

image — HARIS NUKEM

www.harisnukem.com www.harisnukem.com

Gallery | Vandergoff

www.vandergoff.com www.vandergoff.com

ps. what's more rude ? to say to somebody "not waste my time with your casual questions" or to "dare to not provide links that are obtainable in first hit in ggl" ?
Click to expand...
That’s besides the point.
 
@ecoleman - that's not besides the point .. "besides the point" is to not be gracious and to use strong wording like "to waste smbdy's time" because you cannot do one copy-paste-and-hit-enter which takes less than 5 seconds .. and moreover if you start here on the forum AFAIK you cannot post links to external sites in your first N posts ..

@MaxxVariant - I think that the style just starts with perfect photos, studio scenes that were perfectly lit .. I cannot answer that myself because this is not my "cup of tea" but let me suggest, that you might check how works adding a contrast and clarity with layer modes, in this case specifically `overlay' (additionally in combination with high-pass filter) .. Also it is often that you take multiple shots and combine them together (like for example with astrophotography) to achieve additional clarity and cleanliness .. As pointed out above - I recommend you to start with how layer modes work and how they can enhance your photography ..
 
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MaxxVariant said:
Tried posting it, didn't want to be marked as spam for putting links out there cause I just joined, but thanks dude!
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It's 3 posts before you can post a link.
The spam filter is rather efficient, and catches most that try it, before.
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
That's what's mainly in it
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This was my thinking too. I can't see a repetitive "style" that can be copied. There are a lot of special effects, costumes, makeup, photoshop... My guess it's all being used to realise the vision.

It reminded me of the work of David LaChapelle & Tyler Shields in a discount sort of way. Shields has quite a few "behind the scenes" videos showing the effort that goes into his work and it's a combination of many things to realise his vision (YouTube link).

That's wot I think anyway :)
 
MaxxVariant said:
Hey guys, My name is Maxx. I'm a photographer and filmmaker, and have been one for the past 3 years. I recently obtained my own studio where I do dark cinematic photography, and in recent times I've taken a liking to such photographers as "Vandergoff" and "Harris Nukem." You may have heard of these photographers, or maybe this is the first time you've heard of them. Their style is something I wish to achieve, or hopefully even learn from someone else. I'm not the most skilled in photoshop, which is why I've been wanting to take a class or talk to someone to learn this very aesthetic. It seems as though Vandergoff has obtained almost the exact same style that Harris has. I have literally hypothesized their style for almost 5 months, and I still can't quite figure it out. It's not just "Texture" and "Clarity" used in lightroom, it's something else, and it's a consistent style they use in all their photos.

So my question here today is... How can I get my photos to look as gritty, dark, and as Graphic Novely as their photos, or somewhat close? The editing makes these models look as though they came right out of a video game, and I'd love to obtain that style and get it noticed in the small town I'm in. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hi Maxx, welcome to TP. These two examples look like a lot of work. Very good friends of mine, Irina and Slava, produce these art fantasy images https://www.skripnik.net/photo/artphotography which maybe appeal to you too? To achieve their style involves coming up with the initial concept, then planning the shoot, scouting locations, working on the costumes the make-up, the shoot itself, and then post-processing. Of these, they tell me that coming up with the initial concept is the most important.
 
Hi Maxx
As Tim says there doesn’t appear to be a uniform ‘edit’ here, the ‘clarity’ is in the execution, they’re just very well ‘done’.

Maybe if you shared something of yours we could give pointers.

Forgive the sweeping assumption but every time a newbie joins with the question ‘how are these processed?’ The result is generally that it’s what came out of the camera that is difficult.
 
Cobra said:
It's 3 posts before you can post a link.
The spam filter is rather efficient, and catches most that try it, before.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I didn't realise that. It's been a long long time since I joined.

I only suggested that the OP post links as he was far more likely to have people click them than to go of searching for them. Many people here browse TP on phone or tablets where we are quite happy to swipe up, down, left and right but opening new tabs and typing is a pain in the arse.
 
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