Today I tried to figure out how Alison Taylor gets those amazing photos – you know the ones, with that moody lighting and colors that just pop. Saw her work online and thought “how the heck does she do it?” so I decided to copy her style step by step.
Starting Point Was Straight Up Bad
First I grabbed my camera and took some boring shots around my apartment. Flat light, messy background, regular colors – looked like any old snapshot. Felt kinda stupid holding a teacup pretending to be artsy. But hey, gotta start somewhere right?
Lighting Was My Big “Ah-Hah” Moment
Noticed all Alison’s photos have this soft but dramatic glow. Tried pointing my lamp at the wall instead of directly at stuff. Holy crap what a difference! Suddenly my coffee mug had actual shadows instead of looking like mud. Went outside around sunset with my kid as model – golden hour made his freckles look magical. Still had trouble not blowing out the sky though.
- Curtain trick: Taped white bedsheets over my windows – instant softbox
- Foam board bounce: Used pizza delivery box lining to fill shadows
- Backlight struggle: Kept getting lens flare until I blocked light with my hand
Color Mess Had Me Swearing
Her greens are always deep and moody but mine looked like toxic waste. Took like twenty tries editing sliders:
- Cranked down saturation but everything turned gray
- Pushed orange hues too far – suddenly looked like vintage Instagram filter vomit
- Finally found the split toning tool – shadows slightly blue, highlights creamy
Wife walked in asking why I’m taking pictures of dying plants in our bathtub. Whatever – art demands sacrifice.
Biggest Breakthrough? Shooting Through Stuff
Stalked her BTS shots and realized she literally points camera through things. Grabbed a cheap shower curtain and shot my dog through the plastic. Boom! Instant dreamy glow around his ears. Used beer bottle glass for weird distorted effects. People probably think I’m crazy holding a colander in front of my lens in public.
End Result? Still Not Alison But Closer
After three days shooting junk around my house and editing like crazy, finally got something decent. That teacup shot? Still boring. But the one of my kid climbing fence through dirty window glass actually looked professional. Lighting soft but with direction, colors deep but natural, slight vignette pulling your eyes in. Still not 100% her vibe obviously, but at least now I understand why she moves light around and gets filthy shooting through bushes. Gonna keep practicing these tricks till my family runs out of patience.
