Phuel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2010
- Messages
- 5,434
- Reaction score
- 7,500
Hate is a strong word. For Rafael, it’s justified, deserved criticism of how amateur and juvenile, and heavy-handed his post-production usually is. Not to mention how he copies the Greats. He clearly loves fashion, and he has talent--but that doesn’t get a pass just because he’s added bright, oversaturated colors, and when his post-production and digital-imaging efforts, comes across very student/junior level in how heavy-handed, sometimes sloppy it all is. It’s no different than Meisel doesn’t get a pass when he sleepwalks through his UK Vogue studio shoots.
For anyone familiar with digital-imaging/post-production, his process is very amateur. And that such juvenile efforts are splashed across high-profile edits and campaigns alike in 2023— when back in 2009, such efforts would only be relegated to desktop-publishing magazines and ModelMayhem. And when standards are lowered that it gets all the top publishing/campaign work, talents that are so much more skilled/competent/experienced gets rejected, you have to understand the resentment towards his output. It’s not hate, it’s justified resentment. He was given a coveted job when he hardly had the earned experience for it. I hope he will challenge himself, learn about lighting and the more technical aspect of photography rather than rely so much on PS, then maybe he will grow and evolve. Because early-Meisel/Lindbergh/Klein were not strong, and still finding their stance. And they only got one-shot features in publications, and not the covers/coverstories/campaigns, so they were motivated to prove themselves. Rafael already has been handed these coveted jobs with the amateur-level of skills he has; so I wonder why bother improving, evolving, maturing, when you don’t have to push and prove yourself…???
(BTW, kind of hilarious how the damn space heater gets so much attention LOL It’s obviously an aesthetic choice; Annie likely thought having a heater there makes the whole shoot look authentic/raw/real within the reconstruction setting. The cast were clearly digitally inserted. No way would Annie and her team not see the glow against Natalia— and Amber, unless it were very intentional. Frankly, they oversaturated the glow LOL)
