Gabriel Isak uses photography as a medium to create surreal imagery, minimal and graphic in its aesthetic, rich in symbolism and emotion, focusing on themes inspired by human psychology, dreams, and romanticism. His melancholic meditations are crafted primarily through compositing and editing in Adobe Photoshop.
In this two-session online program, Gabriel shares his creative process for successful storytelling using compositing and constructed imagery in Adobe Photoshop. Join Gabriel as he presents the most important tools a photographic artist needs to bring their vision to life. This webinar is for those with basic to intermediate Photoshop skills and is tailored not only to artists and fine art photographers, but also to portrait photographers, landscape photographers, and photographers working in other genres. Participants learn important tips and strategies to elevate the quality of their work and streamline their digital workflow.
In the first session, Gabriel develops his composited image starting with initial post-processing in Camera Raw, before presenting different compositing techniques that include expanding a canvas, building an image from several images, and sky replacement. He then explores how to stay organized in your workflow while compositing in a non-destructive way, as it is easy to create over a hundred layers when working on a single image. To conclude day one, Gabriel covers brushing techniques and how to remove unwanted objects in the images, as well as the best way to create masks.
In the second part of this program, Gabriel continues his work on the image from day one and demonstrates the importance of dodge and burn, a technique that has helped him achieve successful continuity between composited subjects. He then explores blending and the removal of banding to ensure smooth end results. Finally, Gabriel discusses the importance of color grading and how to create a mood in your work; for example, adding fog and using Photoshop’s built-in tools to create your own signature style.
Each of Gabriel’s programs concludes with a Q&A session. Join this contemporary artist to take your creative compositing to the next level and refine your storytelling through mastery of specific Photoshop tools and techniques.
This webinar is open to those with basic to intermediate Adobe Photoshop proficiency. All technical demonstrations will be conducted in Photoshop. It is recommended that participants download an updated version of Photoshop on their computer.
The webinar will meet 9:30 – 11:30 am (Mountain Time) on Saturday, August 17, and Saturday, August 24 (two online group sessions).
Zoom Video Conferencing software (available for no charge from Zoom.com) will be used to facilitate the class sessions. Further details will be emailed to registrants.
Santa Fe Workshops always aims to produce a high-quality experience for our online attendees. That said, variables including regional and local internet provider speeds, traffic on Zoom's servers, and your own computing hardware can contribute to a less than ideal streaming event. While we do our best to minimize the impact of these variables, they are outside the control of Santa Fe Workshops.
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
For the convenience of participants, recordings of each class session are posted privately for one month after the end of each session. Santa Fe Workshops takes the recordings down after one month to protect the intellectual property of our instructors.
Gabriel Isak was born in 1990 in Sweden. In 2016, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California.
Gabriel has exhibited his work in solo exhibitions around the world, including Galerie XII in Shanghai, Paris, and Los Angeles, Up on Walls in Hjo, Sweden, and The Cannery Gallery in San Francisco, California. His works have been included in various notable exhibitions including “Acclimatize” at the Museum of Modern Art, Stockholm, Sweden; “Culture Pop” at M Contemporary, Sydney, Australia; and “Camera Obscura” at Last Rites Gallery in New York, USA.
Gabriel’s surreal photography has earned him several awards including PDN Emerging Photographer Award and Rangefinder Fine Art Photography Award. His work has been published in many prestigious platforms such as Juxtapoz Magazine, VICE, Adobe, PDN, and Elle magazine.
Gabriel travels around the world for personal and commissioned projects. His home is in Stockholm, Sweden.
Website: gabrielisak.com
Instagram: @gabriel_isak
