Okay, so today I’m gonna walk you through my deep dive into recreating the style of Ian Baker Finch’s photography. You know, that super clean, bright, almost hyperreal look he gets in his golf course photos? Yeah, I wanted to see if I could pull that off.
First off, I started by just studying his work. I mean, REALLY looking at it. Noticed a few key things: everything is sharp, the colors are vibrant but not oversaturated, and the lighting is just…perfect. Seems simple, right? Wrong. It’s all about the details.
So, I grabbed my camera (a Sony a7iii, nothing too fancy) and headed to the local golf course. Didn’t even bother playing a round, just wanted to get the shots. First mistake? Shooting at midday. The light was harsh, everything looked flat. Total rookie move.
Learned my lesson. The next day, I went back at sunrise. Much better. The light was soft, golden, and everything had a nice glow. Still, the photos were…meh. They didn’t have that pop Finch’s photos have.
Time to dive into post-processing. I usually use Lightroom, so that’s where I started. First, I cranked up the clarity. Like, way up. Finch’s photos have this insane level of detail. Then, I played with the contrast, adding a bit to make things stand out more. But still, something was missing.
Here’s where things got interesting. I started experimenting with the HSL sliders (Hue, Saturation, Luminance). I noticed that Finch’s greens are always super lush, so I bumped up the saturation and luminance of the greens. Same with the blues in the sky. Made a huge difference.
Then came the tricky part: dodging and burning. I used adjustment brushes in Lightroom to selectively lighten and darken areas of the photo. This is what really gives the image depth and dimension. I lightened the highlights on the grass, and darkened the shadows under the trees. Took a while, but it was worth it.
One more thing I did was to use a graduated filter to darken the sky slightly. This helped to bring out the clouds and add some drama. I also added a touch of vignetting to draw the viewer’s eye towards the center of the frame.
After hours of tweaking, I finally had something that I was happy with. It wasn’t perfect, of course, but it was a lot closer to the Ian Baker Finch look than where I started. The colors were vibrant, the details were sharp, and the lighting was even and flattering.
The biggest takeaway? It’s not just about the gear or the location. It’s about the eye, the attention to detail, and the willingness to experiment. And of course, shooting at the right time of day helps a LOT.
So, yeah, that’s my attempt at recreating the Ian Baker Finch style. It was a fun challenge, and I learned a lot in the process. Now, I just need to find a way to get paid to take photos of golf courses. Anyone hiring?
