Photoshop Interview : Claire Wilson

The Photoshop interview is a new feature that I’m starting here on Laughing Lion Design. Each week I’ll interview a different person about their profession and how they use Photoshop as part of their job. I’m delighted to start this series with photographer, Claire Wilson, known in many circles as Ginger Pixel. (All images shown in this interview are copyright Claire Wilson)

Hi Claire, thanks for taking the time for an interview! Let’s start with your background. You started your professional career as an animator. Tell us a little bit about that. (eg. Study, work)

Well, I studied animation back in the Don Bluth days when we were still using pencil and paper. I did a Classical Animation course in Ballyfermot for 3 years and planned to go into studio animation but when I graduated I wasn’t even 21 so I spent a few years travelling.

When I got home in the mid 1990′s the animation industry had imploded in Ireland and Toy Story had changed everything. Computer animation was the big thing and 2d animators like myself were becoming dinosaurs. Some friends of mine had found work in the computer games industry in the UK so I sat myself down and spent 6 months teaching myself Photoshop. I managed to get a job in a games studio in Sheffield doing concept art and environment building, both use Photoshop a lot so I learned a huge amount from my time there.

I spent 5 years in the UK, moving on to 3d animation with EA games for a year before moving back to Ireland when my daughter was born. The studio system is great fun when you are young but it’s not really family-friendly and I wanted to work from home so I could spend more time with Eve.

Do you feel your animation background gave you “an eye” for photography.

It certainly informs how I approach photography. Animation is all about communicating emotion, story, atmosphere, everything one frame at a time. At first I didn’t make the connection or I thought they were two different things but then I met a great photographer called John Michael Cooper and he helped me see that I shouldn’t be looking at them as separate. Talking to him and seeing how he looks at photography like film stills was like a light going off for me.

How did the move into professional photography come about?

All from my blog and from kind people who liked my photography and asked me to take their headshots or photographs of their kids or even their weddings! I never would have thought I wanted to photograph professionally but I found that I loved it. After so long working with only me and my computer it was great to get out and work with people again!

You have a very successful (and award winning) photography blog – www.gingerpixel.com – how long has that been running and how has it affected your career?

I started my blog in 2005 to keep in touch with friends from my travels and let them meet Eve. I was putting photos up because I had bought myself a digital SLR and was trying to learn how to use it. I started discovering other blogs and other photoblogs and leaving comments on them and was shocked to find other people were reading and commenting on mine. People seemed to like my photos and that gave me the encouragement to try and get better. I learned so much from hours and hours spent trawling through other photographers’ blogs.

I discovered I particularly enjoyed portraiture and when a fellow blogger asked me to do her business headshots it made me think about the possibility of actually doing this for a living. I announced a portfolio building shoot down on Killiney Beach and asked for willing models; thankfully some lovely people were willing to be my guinea pigs. It was a slow snowball effect, all word of mouth and word of mouse. Lots of really generous people willing to give me a try even though I had no experience. I still have never advertised in the traditional sense and get all my work through my blog and referrals.

Tell us a little bit about your work today and your new site www.newborn.ie

Well, I’m still an animator, I still work freelance and have done some short films and tv shows as well as computer games work. The difference now is that the balance is shifting towards doing more photography.

Newborn.ie came about because I was looking for a way to differentiate myself from all the other photographers out there. There are so many brilliant photographers doing lovely work and they have their studios and have been working for a long time. My choice was to jump in and try to compete or do something completely different. I love photographing newborns, there’s something magical in those first few weeks…and it’s quite difficult to take a bad photo of a new baby!

Here on Laughing Lion Design, we’re very interested in all things Photoshop. How important is it for you?

It’s huge; every photograph I take goes through Photoshop. I have played around with Lightroom but I always come back to Photoshop. I use it for everything from processing my photos to album design and web graphics.

Did you teach yourself Photoshop or have you attended classes?

I’ve not attended classes but it doesn’t seem right to say I’m self-taught. I have been lucky enough to have been surrounded by lots of other artists who have shared their knowledge with me along the way. I’m also a voracious reader and I will pick apart other people’s actions to see how they got certain effects.

Can you give us an example of your workflow from taking a pic through working on it in Photoshop.

At the moment I do my culling in Bridge. I’ve tried Lightroom for this but the flow isn’t there for me yet. I give the images I like a star rating (ctrl 2) and reject (alt del) the rest and Bridge filters them out for me. I then open them a few at a time and fix the exposure in Camera Raw. If I’m working in black and white I’ll play my bw action on one photo, tweak it so I’m happy with it and then use that photo as my master. After that I drag the layers that the action created onto the rest of my photos and I don’t have to keep running the same action over and over. I do the same for my colour shots if I can so my work will have a uniform look.

If I’m processing my own personal stuff, I’ll play a lot with different actions. I usually have a look that I want to achieve in my head and I’ll play around until I like it. It’s a lot like using ingredients in a recipe.

Once I’m happy I save a large copy and a blog size copy, run a web sharpening action on the small one so it’s ready to be uploaded to Flickr or put in a client slideshow using Lightroom.

What is your favourite tool in Photoshop and why?

Hmm, probably layer masks…is that a tool? I use them all the time. I love how I can go back and tweak different parts of the image by applying a layer and then using the gradient tool or the brush to apply that effect to specific areas. Discovering how to use layer masks was a huge lightbulb moment for me.

What Photoshop shortcuts have you learned along the way that have made a difference to your workflow?

I use hotkeys all the time. Ctrl J to duplicate a layer, Ctrl I to invert it, X to toggle the foreground and background. One that I learned recently that I love is Ctrl Alt T to duplicate your last transform. I use it when creating album layouts and I’m pasting a lot of different size photos into one document. I resize the first one and then Ctrl Alt T the rest to make them the same size. Hard to explain but such a timesaver.

Do you use any actions?

Yes, all the time. I have gathered many sets over the years as well as a few of my own creations and I mix them up a bit to get certain looks. Some of the actions I use the most would be the Totally Rad Actions by the Boutwells and Kevin Kubota’s Artistic Actions.

The Boutwell’s actions are brilliant for creating funky, retro looks and I love Kubota’s cross-processing actions. I run his x-processing ones and then scale them back to about 30% and it creates a really great fashion look.

What version of Photoshop do you use? If it’s not the latest version, do you think you will upgrade?

I’m still using CS3 and am slow to upgrade. I just got the new Canon 5D Mk2 and its RAW files only work in CS4. Right now I’m shooting jpeg so it’s not a problem but I’m sure I’ll upgrade eventually when I’ve saved a few pennies.

What other software do you use?

So many! I use a lot of Adobe software…Lightroom for slideshows and very large photo jobs, Illustrator for vectors, InDesign for brochures and business literature. I use the 3D software packages Autodesk Maya and Max for my animation and dabble in a bit of Flash for 2D stuff.

What are you favourite online sources of inspiration?

Other photographers’ blogs are still my favourite for giving me something to aim for. My RSS feed is bursting with them. I also spend a lot of time on Flickr.com and its Irish equivalent Pix.ie, the groups have been a great source of ideas and the photographs blow me away.

What is your favourite thing and least favourite thing about running your own photography business.

My favourite thing is definitely the shooting and the processing…the creative side of things. I love the feeling when I look through my lens and all the elements come together, that’s the addictive part. I also love the interaction with people on my blog.

Least favourite would have to be the admin; I’m a one woman show right now so I have to take care of everything from orders to managing the books. It’s not something that comes naturally to me and hopefully I’ll get to the point where I can bring someone else on board to help me out.

And finally, for you, the colour of happiness is ….

Purple! My daughter’s favourite colour…well, for this week anyway.

Thanks Claire!

If you work with Photoshop I would be interested in finding out how you use it, no matter what your profession. If you’d like to take part in an interview, then please contact me with a little bit of info about yourself and I’ll get back to you.

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