Featured Photographer – Guzon Ndrich

1. Tell us a bit about the image

I have behind a normal vintage background, having my model step away from the background darkens it and throws it out of focus a bit. I didn’t light the background to avoid any sort from distraction from my background. I had already envisaged this picture, so I handmade the props I used myself and got just the right model for the shoot. I look forward to making lots more of African inspired images.

2. What inspired you to take the shot?

I grew up in an African rural community. As a child I was very acquainted with the beautiful culture values of our people. As a photographer and an artist, I wish to tell the African story through my images.

3. What gear did you use for the shot including lighting?

Captured with Nikon D7000 f/2.8 – 1/250sec. – ISO 100 On a 50 mm – 1.6 Shot on Raw format Lighting- I used a very simple lighting technique. Single soft box powered by a speedlight. I used a c stand to place the light a bit above the the top of her face, to have the light pour on her evenly.

4. Tell us about the editing process?

Lightroom For this image I used lightroom to take care of the exposure. I wanted the light to be low and rich in contrast to make the African print materials pop. Then I use lightroom basically to convert image to JPEG Then Photoshop I use Retouch Academy Frequency separation.. Highlight with lasso tool and apply blur on a 30% radius Kinda does the magic of exposing the skin texture, I only highlighted portions of her face avoiding the face and the eyes Then on high frequency, I use the healing tool to get rid of obvious dark spots, I try not to do much because I want the image to be as natural as can be. I lil bit of the dodge and burn on Retouch Academy. Then I do some color grading and that’s it

5. How does this piece reflect you as an artist 

I been a photographer professionally for a few months now. Trying to build a brand and learning everyday to do best what I do

My instagram account is @_gmage