How I Edit My Photos- Photojournalistic + Artistic Styles

Some of the most commonly asked questions photographers get are:

1. what kind of camera do you use?

and

2. How do you edit your photos?

Since I’ve already answered the first, i decided to answer the second!

often, how photographers edit their photos is what makes their work unique. it’s possible you can scroll through instagram and be able to tell who posted a photo without looking at the username. Not only because of how they frame their photos, but also because of their editing style. not everyone does photojournalism and has to abide by certain rules for editing, so I thought I would show both ways of editing.

I want to give a few examples of photographers whose editing style is unique to their photos.

  1. zanele muholi. @muholizanele

    zanele is a photographer and activist from south africa. they give visibility to Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities and also focus on race, gender, and sexuality. I originally saw their work at an exhibition in paris and was captivated, not only by the beauty of their photographs but also how they edited the skin tones of their subjects. Muholi has said that they deliberately darken the skin tone to assert the beauty of blackness. not only that, but their photographs are extremely textured and highly contrasted with the whites sometimes blown out. Below are two of my favorite portraits by muholi.

2. chloe sharrock @sharrock.chloe

chloe’s photographs always contain beautiful light and simple subjects. I can always tell it’s her photographs without looking because of the desaturation in her photos. and often, a very subtle vignette around the edges to give way to her subject which is very consistently in the middle of the frame. I also tend to associate her photographs with muted blue/green tones. Below are two examples.

Ok, let’s get on with the video! Check it out below, and feel free to leave a like and a comment.