unediting—vriddhi sawlani
In this series, called Unediting, I talk to artists as they reveal what goes behind the scenes of their finalized art pieces.
They share their thought process and then I try and unpack it further to glean a few more insights.
For this post, we decipher a photo series by Vriddhi Sawlani.
About the Series
Vriddhi: (Un)rest is a series of de-stressing visuals of the basic simplicities of life which might induce a feeling of calm in the middle of the chaos we’ve all been in. They are everything opposite to the clutter and confusion we have all seen around.
Every social media platform is filled with Covid news and of course, it’s important to create awareness but this has caused so much paranoia and anxiety among people and I’ve personally experienced it hence, I wanted to work on something which is soothing and calmer. The photographs are a series of things we are all doing while we are home and finding peace in it.
That is why (UN)REST is how we are learning to rest while the world is in an unrest state of being.
About the Shoot
Vriddhi: I wanted these to be minimal and be able to say things one frame at a time. All these photographs have been taken at home and I didn’t have any artificial light source. So, it took me about 2 days to figure out which areas of the house have the amount of light that I need. For example, the one photograph with the dice and cards is shot at 2 pm because that’s when the light falls through a big tree coming through my backyard making it look soft and pleasing.
Post-processing
Vriddhi: I've never manipulated images apart from the colour tones or a basic Lightroom edit and that's what I used for (un)rest as well.
On the Cutting Room Floor
Vriddhi: Two photographs that didn't make it to the final cut. In the image with the books, I felt the books were too close as compared to the space I was trying to create in my images. While the one where I've used the phone I think the contrast was way higher making it look very out of tone from what I was visioning it to be.
My thoughts
All of these photographs are like a breath of fresh air. Immediately calming and relaxing. I want to briefly highlight three things that work like a charm here, and that are essential if you want to go for the same mood — negative space, colour palette, and light.
Negative Space
Negative Space is the empty region in an image which is not taken up by the subjects in the frame. Having more empty space around gives more breathing room, allowing our eyes to rest softly on the subject.
Having less of clutter in the image helps convey the whole minimal vibe.
Colour Palette
In all of these images if you notice there are very few colours. Neutrals and one primary colour are all there is. This simplifies a scene a lot and gives it more harmony.
Just as negative space helps in reducing clutter, having as few different colours as possible helps it even more.
If going for more colours, it's best to use shades of the same colour, or having analogous colours, e.g. reds, yellows, oranges.
Light
For a light and airy mood, it helps to have a good amount of natural or soft light. Soft light decreases the contrast in the scene, which further brings in more harmony. If shooting with direct sunlight, having it fall through curtains or through trees diffuses the amount of light and gives it the soft look.
On Post Processing
Through colour palettes and negative space and light, what we were trying to achieve was a soft and a more hamonious look. This needs to be further enhanced while editing.
For a soft look there needs to be less contrast in the scene.
Pro tip: Don't use the Contrast slider on your editing app. It's better to play with the Highlights and the Shadows. Decreasing the highlights and increasing the shadows will have the same affect as reducing contrast, but in a more subtle and pleasing way.
You can find more of this series on Vriddhi's Behance.
With each image, she also has an accompanying ASMR video on her Instagram. I urge you to check it out, soothing would be an understatement for them. You can find those, and more of her work, on @cigarettegreys.