With Halloween fast-approaching, let’s take a look at how you can create an ominous atmosphere for your short film—using just one light.

When we think about the core elements of horror lighting, there’s a lot of color to it. A bloody red for villainous moments, a sickly green for monstrous scares, a cold blue for the dark forest filled with frights.

Images by kizaru43, splask, Kiselev Andrey Valerevich.

However, while color often conveys certain aspects of horror, that form of lighting is only used when the characters are caught within the web of the film’s scariest moment. Throughout the other parts of a film, the lighting is going to look relatively normal.

Or is it?

You see, mixed in with the horror, there will be relatively normal moments of any scary film. This is where the audience will bond with the protagonist and learn of the antagonist’s evil doings. The filmmakers will set the location’s geography, establish the lore, and highlight any important details relevant to the story.

However, during these moments, it’d be impractical to illuminate everything with a horrifying color pallet. Yet, conversely, it’d also be improper to illuminate these normal scenes the same way you would if you were to light a romance or drama.

This is because, throughout a horror film, the film’s tone still needs establishing. The audience needs to be visually told that the world the characters reside in is not safe, and they’re in danger. This can be expressed through several mediums, such as music, camera angles, and—as the title suggests—lighting.

In the video tutorial above, we find out how to do just that with minimal equipment.

Setting the Tone

The video below is a snippet from Opale’s music video Sparkles and Wine, which Nacho Guzmán directed. When the video was published, the snippet went viral with both filmmakers and casual internet users alike.

While it’s mesmerizing to watch, it’s also a perfect example of how the positioning of light can drastically alter not only how an actor’s face is perceived, but the tone of the visuals being presented—from light-hearted and welcoming, to downright terrifying.

Using this premise, we’re going to turn a normalized nighttime scene into something that sets the tone for tension. In low-budget fashion, we’re only going to use one main light, with two practical lights.

This is our shot with just using household lighting. It’s flat, boring, and downright uninspiring.

If this were to be a standard shot at night, I might look to illuminate the scene like this.

But, it’s not. We need to make it menacing. Equally, it should be noted, in typical low-budget fashion, we don’t have a lot of space between the couch and the camera.

The singular light I’ll be using is the small, airy Aputure 120d. And, initially, I’m going to place my key light 45 degrees to the subject.

The issue is, using the Aputure 120d in its default state produces an extremely hard light, and this is at 10% power. Even if we increase the aperture to decrease the exposure, the light direction is also slightly abnormal for an interior.

Because the space is small and the framing is on a 25mm lens, it’s not going to be practical to set up a diffusion sheet. Therefore, you may initially gravitate towards a softbox. But, there are two issues in doing so. The first is that softboxes are large, and it’s not ideal for this tight framing.

Of course, using a C-stand, I can raise the light and angle it downward. While this is infinitely better than the light in its default hard state, it still doesn’t give off horror vibes. Because the softbox has a large diffusion area, it’s illuminating the area in a manner that doesn’t seem right.

Therefore, let’s look at a different diffusion tool. Instead of the overly-large softbox, I’m going to look at using the Aputure lantern. This is an omnidirectional diffusion tool, and infinitely smaller than the softbox.

Now, initially, the lantern isn’t doing much better than the softbox. We’re still getting way too much light onto the walls and background. But, as noted, this is an omnidirectional tool. Meaning, light is bounced outward at all angles, and as such, it’s primarily used with the light facing directly downward.

So, let’s attach a boom arm so the light can do just that. 

Now, when illuminating from directly above the actor, it does several things like accentuate facial features and wrinkles. But, primarily, it creates shadows under the eyes because the brow ridge blocks the light.

When we can’t see the subject’s eyes or a person, in general, it makes us feel uneasy. As noted by the famous saying, eyes are the window into the soul. When that window is closed off, it creates a level of uncertainty, even if the eyes we’re looking into are that of our protagonist.

Placing the 120d and the lantern directly above the actor, it’s now given us this moody feel. Which is much better than where we were with the default 120d or the softbox.

However, we have an inherent problem. Due to the ambient falloff of using this particular tool, too much of the apartment is illuminated. And, darkness is a core staple of horror.

Thankfully, the lantern comes with a four-section fully-adjustable light control skirt that allows you to shield the light in a multitude of directions. In doing so, we now have a more focused overhead light. Just as if the character were set within their dimly-lit household environment in their way-too-empty apartment.

Looking better, but we need the tone to be more menacing.

To do this, we’re going to reduce the amount of light hitting the side of the actor’s face. When the key lighting is hitting the side of the actor’s face away from the camera, it’s referred to as a far-side key.

Again, in doing this, for this particular scene, it adds to the ominous tone. Unfortunately, due to the proximity of the light, in bringing one of the control skirts up to shield that area, we can see there’s still too much spill onto the actor.

Therefore, I’m going to use a flag to gently block the light. Because the light itself is diffused, and the flag is close to the light, the shadows will be soft, feathered, and look natural.

Remember, the further away your flag is from the light, the harder its shadow will be.

Overall, we can see that the face is still illuminated, but the side closest to us has less value than the other side. Let’s look at it with and without. We can see the difference is minimal, but enough to be noticeable and effective.

While this looks good, we need some background separation.

So, first, we’re just going to turn on the computer screen—as the character did that within the scene—and the LED screen will softly illuminate this area.

Then, in the background, we’re going to turn on this practical. Because we’re lighting our talent with a cold light, I’ve inserted a 2700K bulb into the practical so it’s a lot warmer.

While this will add dimension to the scene, the difference in the color temperature will add compositional separation between the foreground and background.

What we’ve created, by using just one film light and a small selection of tools, is a moody, sinister-looking image. If I were this character, I wouldn’t feel safe heading into that kitchen.

It’s that time of year. Horror films are on our list. So, here’s some tips and advice just for you:

• Learn How to Light Exterior Night Shots with One Light
• Editing Horror Films: 7 Pacing Tips for Your Next Project
• Video Tutorial: How to Get Cinematic Lighting in Small Spaces
• Classic Horror Film Techniques
• Nine Inch Nail’s Charlie Clouser’s Stock Logic Plugins for Horror Films

Cover image by Kseniya Ivashkevich.

The post Creating Horror Lighting with Just One Light appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

A veteran New York City party reporter reflects on what it was like to see the famed, and famously humble, photographer in action.

Shutterstock is the exclusive sponsor of Experience the Times of Bill Cunningham, an immersive installation taking place in The Seaport, New York City, through October 30. 

Two things about Bill Cunningham, the legendary photographer who for decades chronicled the worlds of philanthropy and fashion in dual New York Times columns, stood out: his work ethic and his humility. In my own work reporting on events, I was lucky enough to witness this shy, iconic photojournalist in action over the years. It’s not an exaggeration to say he raised the bar for all of us.

Cunningham was the most preferred photographer at any charity or fashion event. I once saw staffers at a Calvin Klein runway show eject someone from a front-row seat with a perfect vantage point so Bill could shoot there. And yet, he remained humble in a way so few people of his status do.

He famously cycled to the events he was covering around town (there were usually multiple a night) rather than take company cars or taxis. My friend, the late journalist Jeff Slonim, told me he once encountered Cunningham traveling by foot from a train in the Hamptons to work an event (Jeff ultimately gave Bill a ride to his destination).

Working nights, Cunningham refused to even accept meals at the charity galas he covered. Keep in mind, these events are, literally, dinners. Journalists covering them are routinely fed.

Cunningham, who passed away in 2016 at age eighty-seven, worked constantly. He was out early every morning, in rain, snow, and sleet, snapping photos of people on their way to work for his “On the Street” column, featuring street style.

“I don’t decide anything. I let the street speak to me,” he said in the 2010 documentary Bill Cunningham: New York. “And, in order for the street to speak to you, you’ve got to stay out there and see what it is! You don’t just manufacture in your head that skirts at the knee are a thing. You go out and photograph people with skirts at the knee. You’ve got to stay on the street and let the street tell YOU what it is. There are no shortcuts.”

His favorite spot was the intersection of 5^th Avenue and 57^th Street, which was temporarily renamed “Bill Cunningham Corner” in his honor, after his death.

At a gala at Lincoln Center in 2015, Cunningham sported a full-leg cast, a Band-Aid on his forehead, and a cane. “Oh, just a little tumble on the bike,” the eighty-six-year-old told me as he continued shooting photos of the city’s movers and shakers. “It’s the kneecap that got broken. But, it’ll heal.” He didn’t even skip a day of work due to the mishap.

Cunningham kept to himself, and never wanted to be the center of attention. When he was honored with the Carnegie Hall Medal of Excellence in 2012, the question on everybody’s mind was: Will he show up? Will he make a speech?

“He must be in utter anguish being celebrated. He must be a wreck,” Sarah Jessica Parker, a chair of the event at the Waldorf Astoria told me. “This is his worst nightmare.”

The invitation instructed attendees to “dress for Bill.” SJP’s Oscar de la Renta gown was blue, an homage to Cunningham’s trademark blue French workman’s jacket.

“Many, many times as I’m going down an avenue, I’ll be in a cab, and I’ll see him on a bicycle or on a street corner, shooting away,” Parker said. “He’s really one of the great, great, great people of New York City.”

Many people at that same event commented that Cunningham made them feel comfortable while taking their picture, getting them to smile, and he always made them look good in his column.

Bergdorf Goodman executive Linda Fargo described him as the “Good Housekeeping seal of approval” in fashion. “Many of us are not from New York, and when I finally made it to Bill’s page, I felt like, ‘Okay, now I can finally call myself a New Yorker.’”

Earlier in her career at Bergdorf’s, Fargo was a window director, and she said that the single most difficult-to-obtain window display they’d ever gotten was a tribute to Cunningham in 2008.

“I thought, You know what, I’m not going to ask someone [for permission], I’m just going to directly ask him. And, every time I tried, I got the, Oh child, child”—one of his trademark responses—“and he’d start to kind of back away, and immediately start snapping someone who was in the vicinity.”

It took her ten years of pleading and asking others to speak to him until he finally agreed to the tribute. “Finally, our president ended up at a dinner with [Times chairman] Arthur Sulzberger, and I think that was our tipping point.”

Cunningham did turn up at the Carnegie Medal gala, but ducked out, heading to a Waldorf ballroom across the way to shoot photos at a different charity event. He did eventually return to his own party, removing his blue jacket to reveal a tuxedo, and proceeded to greet his admirers—while snapping pictures.

The award ceremony began, the guest of honor was lauded by dignitaries, and Cunningham approached the stage. He held the award high and said, “Well, what can one possibly say? I’ve been struggling with it, and I have notes.” He unfurled a three-foot-long sheet of paper to big laughs from the crowd.

“Everyone in this room, that’s why I’m here. Because of you, not me,” he said, and to everyone’s surprise and delight, Cunningham continued to speak for over fifteen minutes.

With humor, he praised the philanthropists he chronicled in his “Evening Hours” column, many of whom had become his friends, as well as Carnegie Hall, where he had lived for sixty years, and the New York Times. Occasionally, he choked up and paused until he regained his composure.

After the ceremony, guests mingled and drifted into an after-party in another room, and Cunningham was in the center of it all, shooting photos and laughing.

Experience The Times of Bill Cunningham is located at 26 Fulton Street, New York. Admission is $30. Tickets may be purchased online at timesofbill.com.

A few more photography tips and advice for you:

• How to Approach Stock Photography as Anthropology
• The Most Clickable Fall Images According to Data
• Tips from Globetrotting Travel Photographer Susan Portnoy
• How to Transform Black-and-White Photography into Color
• How to Capture Compelling Abstract Photography

Cover image via lev radin.

The post The Legendary Work Ethic of Photographer Bill Cunningham appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Bored of holiday red, indifferent to forest green, or totally over wintery silver? Here’s some chilling-fresh color palettes for you.

Perhaps you’re looking for an edgy palette for that corporate holiday card. Or, you’re in need of unusual inspiration for a seasonal marketing campaign. Whatever the case, if you’re itching to think outside the red-and-green box, these alternative winter color palettes are a good place to start.

Packed with surprising color combinations and unexpected twists on tradition, each palette is distinct, yet strongly seasonal—enough to give your December designs an edge over your competitors.

Plus, there’s something here for everyone, whether you adore the bleak beauty of winter or need a rush of dopamine brights to get you through the shorter, darker days.

Scroll down to discover ten surprising seasonal schemes, and don’t forget to pin the ones you like best.

• Discover 100s of color combinations with Shutterstock’s Color Spectrum

How to Use Your Alternative Winter Palettes

These ten unique, wintery palettes are sourced from trends in interior design, fashion, and branding, as well as more unusual sources of inspiration, like retro party décor.

Each palette consists of four HEX code color swatches, which allows you to easily translate your designs to web and other online applications. You can also convert your palettes to printable CMYK swatches using design software. 

• RGB vs. CMYK: Deciphering Color Modes for Print and Digital Design

Each alternative winter palette proposes a combination of colors that can give graphic design, packaging, branding, illustration, or web designs an edgy, seasonal style.

Read on to discover your new favorite cold weather scheme, and open up a whole world of winter color that’s not simply limited to red and green. When you’ve found your favorite winter palette, pin your chosen image to a Pinterest board or save to your computer to refer to later.

1. Purple Beets

Deep and rich, this palette is inspired by the earthy colors of winter root vegetables and the cool purple tones of winter sunlight.

When combined with deep red and royal blue, purple hues feel contemporary and crisp. Use in place of traditional seasonal schemes for a fresh take on winter red.   

2. Orange Frosting

Inspired by perfectly crisp winter weather, this fresh scheme combines red orange with deep purple-blue, sky blue, and pure white.

The high contrast in this scheme makes it particularly effective for logo design and illustration, allowing text to stand out on marketing and social media images. 

3. Bordeaux Velvet

This palette is a modern take on classically seasonal red and green. Christmas red is swapped out for richer mulled wine hues for a juicier, more luxurious effect.

Deep sherbet pink and wine red combine with emerald and forest green for an atmospheric, festive scheme that’s both traditional and fresh.  

4. Mustard Seed

Warm up your designs with this subtly retro mustard-yellow scheme. While Pantone’s Colors of the Year 2021—Illuminating and Ultimate Gray—have a distinctly urban flavor, this variation gives the pairing of yellow and gray a more folky feel.

Use this scheme across ads and social posts to give viewers an immediate sense of hygge-inspired coziness.  

5. Days of Rust

A beautiful palette for winter wedding schemes or seasonal interior inspiration, this is a rustic, down-to-earth color combination that balances a range of nature-inspired tones.

Burnt orange and chestnut combine with the palest of pastel blues, while charcoal black anchors the scheme.

6. Winter Blues

This palette offers a festive, ’70s-infused alternative to classic red-and-gold schemes. Antique gold and russet red lend warmth to cooler tones of denim blue and navy, making for a balanced palette that feels cocooning and sophisticated.

This is a beautiful, grown-up scheme for winter interiors or seasonal product design.

7. Pink Party

Looking for an alternative scheme for a holiday event or party-themed social media images? This palette contrasts conservative cold-season colors of dark blue and snow white with a party-worthy pop of neon pink.

Gray with a slight dose of warming pink rounds out the palette, making it versatile and chic. 

8. December Dopamine

We could all do with more color in our lives over the winter months, and with rainbow brights trending on the spring 2022 runways at Tom Ford and Moschino, it’s clear that dopamine dressing is back in fashion.

If you’re on the hunt for a festive scheme to brighten up the bleak winter days, this ultra-bright, cheerful scheme will have you wishing for a retro-style, multicolored Christmas tree in no time. 

9. Cabin in the Woods

A gothic winter palette that gives a nod to Scandi noir and horror, this palette presents the perfect color choice for those seeking the ultimate anti-festive winter palette. Crimson, blood red, and inky black lend a vampiric edge to pure snow white.

Channel your inner Snow Queen and use this edgy scheme for book covers, posters, or video graphics this winter.

10. Onyx Forest

Go back-to-black with this monochrome scheme inspired by moonless winter nights. This sliding scale of dark, dramatic hues will give your designs mysterious, moody beauty this season.

If you’re looking for a palette that feels truly wintery and bypasses festivity, this deeply stylish scheme will give websites and app designs sophisticated depth without introducing color.

Ready to embrace the winter mood? Can’t wait for the holidays to begin? Here’s everything you need to make your winter designs come to life:

• 10 FREE Fall Color Palettes With a Neon Twist
• 8 Free Seamless Vector Patterns to Spread Holiday Cheer
• Modern Holiday Background Images: Festive Patterns, Textures, and More
• The Top 25 Free Fonts for Christmas and the Holidays
• 5 Tips on Preparing Your Holiday Marketing Campaigns

Cover image via Pavel_Klimenko.

The post 10 FREE Unexpected Winter Color Palettes appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Want to get those creative juices flowing? Find photography inspiration and advice by following these ten talented photographers on TikTok.

A new report suggests that social media consumers in the U.S. and U.K. are spending more time on TikTok than YouTube these days—and that statistic hasn’t gone unnoticed by some of the industry’s top photographers.

In fact, many creatives are using the platform to share industry tips, tricks, tutorials, and behind-the-scenes footage while building their online communities.

So, which ones are worth a follow? Check out our list.

1. @wonguy

Paris-based photographer and filmmaker Olivier Wong is one of the most-followed photographers on TikTok, and for good reason. He appears to perform acts of magic to achieve his breathtaking photography. But, unlike magicians, he reveals exactly what happens behind the magic curtain (a.k.a. lens).

He posts videos on his account several times a week demonstrating some of the creative ways he transforms perfectly ordinary scenes into next-level masterpieces.  

2. @that.icelandic.guy

Back in 2017, @that.icelandic.guy was working several jobs but didn’t enjoy any of them. He aspired to become a photographer, except he had one small problem—he had no photography skills. Every day for a year, @that.icelandic.guy took photos to hone his craft before landing his first professional photography job.

Now, he’s sharing his wealth of knowledge on TikTok, providing useful tips and tricks to help other aspiring photographers achieve their dreams. 

3. @illumitatiana 

Illuminati, also known as “Tati,” established a reputation for becoming one of the fastest rising photographers on TikTok. She gained notoriety for taking iconic photos of TikTok stars, but it’s her talent—not her subjects—that’s the real star of the show.

She shares practical tips on how photographers can help their subjects pose and must-see editing tricks that transform photography from good to amazing. 

4. @davidsuh

When it comes to portrait photography, the goal of the photographer is to show the “best side” of the subject—guiding the subject through a series of poses while adjusting angles and stances.

Portrait photographer David Shuh has posing down to an art, and he’s sharing his know-how via helpful (and hilarious) videos. His goal is to help subjects find confidence in front of the lens and help photographers achieve greatness behind it. 

5. @Jordi.koalitic

Using perspective in photography can capture the essence of a three-dimensional scene in a two-dimensional image. Photographer @Jordi.koalitic offers a perspective like no other as he finds uncommon compositions and interesting objects or props that take the viewer’s eye on a unique visual journey.

His videos provide a behind-the-scenes look at how he executes creative techniques to achieve stunning results.

6. @alex.stemp

Photographer Alex Stemp has made a name for himself by masterfully capturing complete strangers on the street. He captures the whole process on film, from asking the subject if he can photograph them to showing the results.

Without studio or professional lighting, Alex challenges himself to improvise without sacrificing the quality of his photos—and demonstrates how it’s done.

7. @alexroving

Several times a week, Utah-based photographer Alex Roving reveals ingenious photography hacks and editing tips in easy-to-follow bitesize videos. There’s no shortage of inspiration and hacks photographers use in their own works.

8. @shotzbyalex

You can be a fantastic photographer but a terrible teacher. Fortunately, Alex Frank is talented at both. The New York-based portrait photographer simplifies the photography process by breaking down how to execute the shot and ways to edit in post-processing.

Whether she’s shooting on her iPhone or DLSR, she shares tips for a wide variety of scenarios and skillsets. 

9. @lyndoco

Phone photography technology has come a long way over the last couple of decades (you can capture professional-quality photos and edit them all in one place)—and expert mobile photographer Lyndon Core is here to guide you every step of the way.

His videos show you how to level up your mobile photography skills using mobile photography accessories, apps, and techniques. 

10. @yawasiedu

Finally, we wrap up with New York-based beauty-and-fashion photographer Yaw Asiedu, who shares simple tips and tricks professional photographers use every day to make their photos stand out—from what he carries in his camera bag to the industry’s best-kept secrets.

His videos are perfect for photographers starting out or even professionals looking to be inspired. 

Need a little more TikTok inspo? We’ve got plenty:

• A Brief Introduction to TikTok
• TikTok for Photographers: Tips for Getting a Head Start
• How Young Indigenous Creatives Use TikTok to Reclaim Digital Space
• 7 Creative TikTok Photo Trends for Photographers to Try
• The 10 Best Up-and-Coming Filmmakers to Follow on TikTok

Cover image via Roman Samborskyi.

The post The 10 Best Photographers to Follow on TikTok appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Co-founder of the production company HEX, Gavin Booth, goes deep on what it means to take an authentic photo.

What does it mean for a photo to be authentic? For Gavin Booth, co-founder of the production company HEX, the answer is fairly straightforward: A photo is authentic if it captures something (a relationship, an interaction, a moment in time) that’s real. 

“The word authenticity is used a lot [in stock photography]. But, actually, if it’s a photo of friends who are not really friends, it’s not authentic,” Booth says. “If they were cast and invited to a studio one day, that’s not authentic in any way.”

HEX, which Booth co-founded in 2013, takes what he calls an “anthropological” approach to sourcing its subjects. “We might do general casting through platforms like Backstage,” he says. But once the team finds an interesting person to work with, they don’t just pair that person with a pre-existing idea. They build the idea around the person. 

“You ask them, ‘What is your scene?’” Booth explains. “You kind of peel back the layers, build up a relationship.”

The team might learn, for instance, that they’re working with a skateboarder or a drag queen or a guy who met his girlfriend at IHOP. “‘She was a waitress and I came in,’” Booth says, imagining the conversation. From there, they’ll tap into a subject’s subcultures and networks to build out a story.

“Once you find one person who is embedded, you empower that person,” Booth says. “Because they know people. They introduce you to four or five scenarios, and you maybe pick three.”

“We’re not working off a spreadsheet here,” Booth continues. “We’re not money-balling this, we’re not predicting, we’re not looking at sales reports and saying, ‘Aha!’ We just want to find a story that’s genuine.”

The Importance of Representation

Finding a story that’s genuine means paying more than lip-service to diversity.

When Booth co-founded HEX, it was in part to address the fact that he didn’t see the people who surrounded him in New York City reflected in stock photography. And, that hasn’t exactly changed.

“We still don’t see the people that I live with, the people that I see in Queens on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “If you’re on the subway and take a study of the 100 people that you might witness in that day, and get a composite of what those people truly look like, it’s nothing like what you see in commercial media.”

“[Representation] has become big in the last few years,” he continues. “But, the polished version of diversity and the polished version of representation is not diversity and representation.”

In addition to ensuring diversity in front of the camera, Booth says HEX is addressing diversity behind the camera. “The real representation comes when you have a diverse set of creators and representation at the point of production,” Booth says. “The way we approach working with photographers, we’re not looking for the safe bets. We’re not looking to copy anything else.”

Building a Rapport

HEX practices a sort of guerilla approach to shooting, and in order for that to work, everyone needs to feel comfortable with each other. “I’m not just going to helicopter in for the day and take some pictures,” Booth says. “That isn’t the goal. No, we spend time with [our subjects] in the days before the shoots.” They go out for drinks or lunch. They talk.

“If you’re working with somebody who’s eighteen or nineteen, and you go into their environment—you’re some white business-guy from New York just rocking up with some people, like, ‘Okay, we’re just going to document you’—that’s the opposite of what we want to achieve here,” Booth says.

By building a rapport, he’s able to get shots that are not only authentic but also alive.

Take this party photo, for instance:

“It was a Friday evening, I think, and it was a house party, so it was an organic scene,” Booth says.

Most importantly, he adds: “We had fun.”

A few more photography-inspiring articles for you:

• How to Transform Black-and-White Photography into Color
• How We Search It: Black Hair
• The Best Techniques for Incorporating Photos into a Video
• How to Capture Compelling Abstract Photography
• Tips from Globetrotting Travel Photographer Susan Portnoy

Cover image via HEX.

The post How to Approach Stock Photography as Anthropology appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Leopard spots, tiger stripes, snake skin. Animal prints have been around, in some shape or form, for centuries. Here, a look back at the evolution of this striking motif.

Few patterns are more timeless than animal prints. No matter the season, the year, or the price point, it’s almost always been possible to stock your wardrobe—and home—with the likes of leopard, cheetah, zebra, and more.

While animals themselves often use their spots or stripes as a form of camouflage, humans draping themselves in tiger print, say, are usually looking to stand out from the crowd. That particular desire can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt, on through the Roman Empire, 17th-century England, old Hollywood, and every place and time in-between.

With that in mind, let’s embark on a design safari, of sorts . . .

Ancient Power Prints

When we talk about the early days of animal prints, we’re really just talking about actual furs and skins. The goal, however, remained the same—channel some of the animal’s fierce power by donning its pelt.

The pharaohs Tutankhamun and Ay were known to wear leopard skins (heads, paws, and all) to convey their superiority as leaders. Seshat, the Egyptian goddess of wisdom and writing, was often depicted in leopard skin as well, symbolizing her power over the then-common danger of predatorial big cats.

Outside of pharaohs and gods, the only other ancient Egyptians who could wear fur were high priests, and even then only during ceremonial events. 

In ancient Greece, the god Dionysus was often pictured wearing a leopard skin. And, in Phrygia, the goddess Cybele was usually depicted near the animals. Over in Rome, regular humans wore fur, too, but only if they were wealthy and powerful. The emperor Honorius even issued a decree that banned his court from wearing fur, presumably to keep it scarce (and thus valuable). 

Fur Goes Global

As global exploration and trade ramped up in the 1500s, so too did the appetite for exotic animal skins imported to Europe from Asia and Africa.

By the 18th century, young English aristocrats traveling to the continent for their Grand Tour would return with real furs, or printed clothing made in France and Italy. In Venceslao Verlin’s 1768 painting An Interior with Elegant Company, for example, a dapper gent pairs his leopard-print breeches with a matching waistcoat. 

Over in Paris, Napoleon also kicked off a craze for animal skins and prints after he visited North Africa in the 1800s and returned with fur rugs. Because they were expensive and hard to acquire, fur rugs rapidly became a sought-after status symbol among aristocrats. 

Leopard fur was also popular in southern Africa, where the animals actually lived. The Zulu people revered the cats, and later, the Shembe religion incorporated the pelts into their ceremonies. (They have since switched to faux fur for conservation reasons.) 

Prints Everywhere

Furs and skins remained the province of the wealthy until the 20th century, when mass production made it easy to print zebra stripes and giraffe spots on . . . everything. Once again, leopard was at the forefront of the animal print craze, alongside other big cat patterns like tiger, cheetah, and jaguar.

Two of the earliest trendsetters were Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan, who wore tons of animal print as Tarzan and Jane in 1932’s Tarzan the Ape Man—and its five sequels. The movies were enormously popular, and by the 1940s, everyone was ready to walk on the wild side. 

At this point, the range of what an animal print could express about its wearer also started to change. Pinup star Bettie Page made it sultry, posing in printed bikinis with live cheetahs. While Christian Dior made it elegant, showing leopard print on the runway in his iconic New Look collection of 1947. Jacqueline Kennedy put her indelible spin on the trend in 1962, wearing a leopard fur coat designed by Oleg Cassini.

The look was everywhere in Hollywood, too, with Eartha Kitt, Jayne Mansfield, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Elizabeth Taylor all taking exotic prints for a spin throughout the 1960s. Even Bob Dylan immortalized the trend in his 1966 tune “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” possibly inspired by fashion plate and Andy Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick.  

Adding an Edge

After society ladies and silver-screen legends had their way with animal prints in the ’60s, the ’70s introduced a wilder, less refined version of the trend. An animal print still conveyed a sense of power on the wearer, but once it became easier to find the patterns in stores, the association with money and exclusivity collapsed.

Punk rockers like Iggy Pop and Blondie’s Debbie Harry took the stage in zebra and cheetah prints, while The Cramps’ Poison Ivy performed in a skintight tiger onesie.

By the 1980s, animal print was bigger than ever, coming in colors not found in nature—blue zebra, purple cow, and so on—and popping up on everything from skimpy bikinis to office-appropriate wrap dresses. 

The People’s Print

Though animal prints of all species were widely available by the early ’90s, they still retained a certain air of trashiness in some circles. Think of Peg Bundy in an off-the-shoulder zebra top on Married . . . With Children, or The Nanny’s Fran Fine whining for Mr. Sheffield in sequined leopard.

These women were too sexy, too independent, too much. By 2000, though, the pendulum had started to swing back, and animal print was once again elegant (and, if someone thought it wasn’t, it was OK not to care). 

In 2009, for example, Maggie Gyllenhaal attended the Golden Globes in a bright blue and fuchsia leopard-print gown by Lanvin. Four years later, Jennifer Lopez hit the Met Gala red carpet in a sheer Michael Kors number covered in something between cheetah and giraffe. (That year’s theme, not coincidentally, was punk.)

As first lady, Michelle Obama wore a sequined, white and pink leopard-spotted cardigan, expertly mixing functionality with fun. 

On the less imitable side of things, Beyoncé tapped into the full history of animal prints for her 2020 film Black Is King, which showed her in a leopard-print Valentino catsuit, lounging on a leopard-print Rolls-Royce, surrounded by dancers clad in leopard-print suits.

It only makes sense. What else would modern-day royalty wear? 

A few more fashion-forward beauties for you:

• Weird to Couture: Images of Fashion-Forward Cats Ready for a Close-Up
• The Riveting and Rich History of Toile
• The History and Symbolism of Paisley
• Mad for Plaid: The Intricacies of Plaid Throughout History
• 2020’s Wondrous and Weird Fashion Moments on the Catwalk

Image via Shutterstock’s Animal Prints Collection.

The post Everything a Designer Needs to Know About the History of Animal Prints appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Add credibility, professionalism, and seasonality to your next presentation with these FREE fall PowerPoint templates. Download now!

You may be delivering your next PowerPoint presentation from the comfort of your own home—while secretly petting your cat (#remotework)—but that doesn’t mean your standards have dropped. Prove as much by making polished slides with Shutterstock‘s FREE, autumn-inspired PowerPoint templates.

In this article, we’ll show you how to download the bundle, then guide you through creating a presentation using PowerPoint and Google Slides. Kitty companion not included.

Inside the FREE Fall PowerPoint Templates

By downloading the bundle, you’ll get two sets of presentation templates. Each is minimal, clean, and versatile. All of the elements—including fonts, layouts, and colors—are easy to customize.

Features:

• Minimalistic and clean design
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• High resolution, FHD (1920×1080 px)
• PowerPoint and Google Slides templates (.potx and .pptx files)
• Two sets of templates
• Eleven slide designs included in each template
• Free fonts
• All elements resizable and editable

A Deeper Look Inside Each Template

Sanjivani Template

The Sanjivani presentation template comes in a terracotta-inspired color palette, reminding you of the earthy hues that dominate this season. It’s decorated with subtle, minimal botanical illustrations that add uniqueness to your slides, while still keeping a clean, professional look. This is definitely fashion-inspired, but you can use and customize it for any type of presentation.

Sadara Template

The Sadara template also comes in an earthy color palette, but with a touch of modern and a pop of muted yellow that conjures fall leaves. It’s intended for a brand guideline presentation, but can be customized to suit any presentation purpose.

Downloading the FREE Fall PowerPoint Templates

To add this FREE bundle to your computer, click on the red download button below. After the download is finished, simply double-click the compressed ZIP file to un-package its contents and access all the files.

Download the FREE Fall PowerPoint Templates

*By downloading these FREE Minimal Fall PowerPoint Templates, you agree not to resell or redistribute these assets.

Inside each set, you’ll find four folders:

• Fonts
• Google Slides templates (.pptx files)
• .pdf
• PowerPoint templates (.potx files)

Note: The stock photos used in the preview are not included in the bundle. But, if you want to download them, you can click on the credit links below each of the preview images. Or, if you want to choose your own images, follow these tips.

Before Using the Templates

First thing’s first: Install the fonts (if you don’t, the fonts will be replaced by your default fonts).

To install the fonts, simply follow these steps:

• Open the fonts folder inside the downloaded folder.
• Select all of the font files (ctrl+A or cmd+A).
• Mac users: Right-click, then choose Open With > Font Book.app. The Font Book application will open, then click Install Font.
• Windows users: Right-click, then select Install.

Now that the fonts are installed, let’s get creative!

Using the Templates in PowerPoint

Step 1: Import the Template to PowerPoint

Open the .potx file you want to use. The file is located inside the PowerPoint templates folder.

Step 2: Save As and Rename

This .potx file is a PowerPoint template format, so you need to change it to a .pptx file so that you can modify it (without losing the file). Click Save As, choose .pptx file format, then Rename it with your presentation name.

Now, you’re ready to create your own presentation.

Step 3: Add a New Slide (with Master Slide Template)

Adding a new slide with Master Slide is easy. Just go to the Home menu, click on the dropdown symbol on Insert Slide, and the Slide layout options will appear. You can choose the suitable layout for each of your slides.

Step 4: Customize Your Own PowerPoint Template

You can also modify the Master Slide to the style and layout you want. Go to View menu and click Slide Master. Choose the slide layout you want to change, then edit the layout, text, font, and remove/add more ornaments.

You can also create a new slide layout by right-clicking on the navigation pane on the left, and choose Insert Layout.

Tip: If you want to add more ornaments in the Sanjivani layout, just take the ornaments from the last page of the Master Slide. The slide contains some clip arts you can use to decorate your presentation. Have fun exploring!

Step 5: Save Your Master Slide

To save the customized Master Slide, simply click on Slide Master > Close Master View, and you’ll go back to your default presentation view.

Using the Templates in Google Slides

Step 1: Import Theme

Open Google Slides with your desktop browser and sign in using your Google account. Start with Blank Presentation, click Theme on the toolbar, then click Import Theme.

Choose Upload, then upload the .pptx file of the template you want to use. It’s located under the downloaded Google Slides Templates folder (drag-and-drop will do, as well).

Make sure you choose the .pptx file, not .potx, then click Import Theme.

Step 2: Add New Slide

To add a new slide, click on the dropdown button next to the “+” button on the toolbar. You’ll find the layout options you can choose from. Click on one of the layout options to create a new slide using that chosen layout.

Step 3: Customize Master Slides

You can also customize your Google Slides template by choosing the View menu and activating Theme Builder. You’ll be able to view all the slide layouts inside this template.

Choose the slide layout that you want to customize to start editing. To go back to the default presentation view, click View > uncheck the Theme Builder.

Now, you (and your cat) just need to rehearse your presentation. Knock ’em dead!

These articles and freebies will help you achieve a professional, yet eye-catching presentation, with these beauties:

• Sleek and Professional: FREE Minimalistic PowerPoint Templates
• 9 Tips for Making Beautiful PowerPoint Presentations
• PowerPoint Background Images to Wake Up Your Presentations
• Change Theme Colors in PowerPoint to Customize Your Presentation
• Conquer Your Fear of Presentations with 11 Tips for Engaging Slideshows

Cover images via Oleh Phoenix and Creatureart Images. Shadow overlay via Ganjalex.

The post Modern and Clean: FREE Fall PowerPoint Templates appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Cozy up with a good book, put on comfy socks, and light a fire: Autumn is on its way! Let’s see what’s trending this season.

Perhaps you’re the type to put out your fall decorations the day after Labor Day. Or maybe you’re more of a warm-weather person who dreads the end of summer. Regardless of whether you live-laugh-love this time of year, however, the seasons change—and advertisers have to respond accordingly.

To see how consumers are engaging with creative trends, we turned to our artificial intelligence platform, Shutterstock.AI. The tool analyzed every image and video in its data set (including more than 600 billion creative data points) to determine the click-through rates (CTRs) for “objects present.” So, are leaves up or down? Are apple pies in, or out?

Here’s what we learned …

Stay Outside, While the Weather Still Allows

The pandemic is raging on, with case numbers much higher than they were this time last year. This leaves many of us to wonder if we’ll have another winter spent social distancing and cooped up indoors. 

From what AI can tell, people are making the most of getting outside this season: The most clickable content features outdoor activities. 

Videos and imagery of hiking are 112% and 155% more clickable, respectively, than they were in fall of 2020. Bonfires are 126% more likely to be featured in ads this year, and their CTR has remained strong and steady since pre-pandemic times.

Consumers are even clicking on corn mazes and hay fields, with their CTRs surging 132% this year. 

If you prefer to opt for indoor settings, AI has discovered a few features that will boost clickability. Videos containing fireplaces have seen their CTR increase 200% since this time last year. And, imagery containing books have seen their CTR increase 179% over the same time period. 

Embrace Fall Fashion and Costumes

People have a lot to say about fall fashion. From Fashion Week festivities (which are happening IRL again) to presumptive memes, online communities always have a lot to say on the subject. 

Artificial intelligence discovered that the following cool-weather pieces have the highest engagement rates this year: 

• Imagery of boots saw an 89% CTR increase from last year.
• Imagery of sweaters also saw a 19% CTR boost.
• Videos with jackets saw a 50% increase in CTR from fall of 2020.
• Videos containing beanies saw a 177% increase in CTR from last year.

And, beyond just closet staples, AI notices a shift in clickable colors, as well. In a move away from 2020’s wider variety of popular colors, data tells us that dark greens reminiscent of camouflage have become the most clickable colors this fall. In fact, dark olive green has seen its CTR rise 233% since this time last year.

Bewitching Costumes Drive Clicks

When looking at holiday-specific sartorial choices, nothing tops Halloween. But, trick-or-treating was either completely changed or cancelled throughout much of the United States last year, and that shift was observable in ad creative. In fact, according to AI, costumes’ use in ads dropped 43% since 2019. 

That being said, the CTR for imagery of costumes has continued to hold a good performance. Videos containing costumes have seen increasing success, with a 282% higher CTR this year. And, interestingly enough, witches specifically have seen a 178% boost in CTR since 2020.

Curate the Most Clickable Feast

Once the candy is eaten and the costumes are put away, all thoughts turn toward what will be another unique Thanksgiving.  

In terms of imagery, sweets reign supreme. Pies are the most clickable fall food content for photos, with a CTR that’s increased 23% since this time last year. 

Despite candy’s popularity at Halloween, fruit has it beat, in terms of clickability. Fruit has a 28% higher CTR than imagery of candy. Apples’ CTR in particular has risen 6% since this time last year.

Videos of feasts have gone up 109% in clickability since 2019. And, when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, AI’s findings may surprise you. Ham has a 381% higher CTR than turkey. Soup has seen a 115% boost in CTR when compared to fall 2020. 

If your feast needs drinks and place settings, consider these options: 

• Red wine has decreased 59% in clickability since last fall. Audiences are more inclined to click on content that features beer and cocktails. 
• AI has predicted the perfect after-dinner drink: Lattes have a 461% higher CTR than black coffee. 
• Candles will boost your CTR, too. Their clickability has gone up 385% since this time last year.

A few more interesting reads for you:

• AI Report: Top-Performing Creative Trends in the Auto Industry
• How to Create the Most Clickable Video Content, According to AI
• Why Retailers Need to Adopt AR Technology Right Now
• Mad for Plaid: The Intricacies of Plaid Throughout History
• The History and Symbolism of Paisley

Cover image via mervas.

The post The Most Clickable Fall Images According to Data appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Discover how this artform came to life through the vision of such artists as Michelangelo and Van Gogh, and its impact today.

To put it simply, still life is a work of art depicting an arrangement of inanimate objects. As the name implies, these objects do not move. However, through thoughtful composition, form, color, and texture, still life creators breathe life into ordinary objects we’d otherwise not pay much attention to.

Such objects represent much more than their simple compositional elements. They’re packed with symbolism—and decoding such symbols captures the imaginations of viewers who want to uncover an exciting world of hidden meanings.

Symbolism aside, still life is on an exciting journey. The art form now appears in photographs and digital artworks in addition to traditional paintings. To appreciate the evolution of this artistic medium, let’s go back to where it all began.

Ancient Still Life 

The earliest known examples trace to the Egyptians back in 15th century BCE. During this time, Egyptians believed objects represented on the inside of the tomb would accompany the dead in the afterlife. They also used still life paintings as offerings for the gods, including images of crops, fish, and meat.

The Tomb of Menna Project discovered and preserved the most famous example of ancient Egyptian still life works in the Tomb of Menna (pictured below), located in Thebes. Detailed depictions of everyday activities and objects adorned the walls of this tomb. 

Ancient Greeks and Romans 

The ancient Greeks and Romans advanced still life as an artform. For the most part, mosaics were the dominant form of still life. However, artists also employed them in frescoes, or paintings done on damp plaster before the plaster dries on the wall.

Many examples of still life frescoes were found in Pompeii, displaying more realistic depictions of inanimate objects with the incorporation of shading and coloring. 

The Middle Ages 

Still life really took off during the 15th and 16th centuries, when Christian artists began employing it to serve a purpose. The Bible, and symbolic arrangements to depict religious scenes, were common subjects in still life paintings of this era.

This was particularly true in the works of Northern European artists, including the likes of painter Jan Van Eyck. He perfected the newly developed technique of oil painting, bringing his fascination with highly-detailed optical realism and symbolism to life in intricate still life masterpieces.

This period also welcomed the likes of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. This Italian painter used his large-scale canvases to bring religious scenes to fruition (see below) with intense realism, invigorating still life painting across Italy.

The Renaissance Era 

Still life flourished during the 17th century, particularly in the Netherlands, thanks to Northern Renaissance artists who invigorated the genre with vibrant, colorful flower paintings. Such paintings rose to prominence in the early 17th century. Their success in turn encouraged other Northern Renaissance artists to create more realistic studies of everyday items. 

The Dutch Golden Age 

Enter the Dutch Golden Age, which welcomed a tremendous outpouring of still life paintings and developed a sub-genre called vanitas. The latter was inspired by a cultural phenomenon present in early modern Europe known as memento mori, Latin for “remember that you have to die.”

These paintings, often depicting human skulls and freshly cut flowers, serve as a reminder that life’s pleasures are fleeting in the face of our mortal existence.

Modern Art

By the 19th century, artists became less concerned with producing hyperrealist still life paintings. Instead, they turned to experimentation with color, shapes, and textures.

Still life made its major modern art debut during the post-impressionist period when Van Gogh produced a series of famous still life paintings—Sunflowers. He forwent realism in favor of bold color, large, dynamic, thick brush strokes to recreate the three-dimensional textures of the sunflowers he was painting. This technique creates a visible texture on the surface of the canvas called impasto.

Still life was also a major preoccupation for Cezanne during the 1890s, who painted the same objects time and time again from multiple perspectives—the way, he believed, we see the world.

Contemporary Art

Today, many artists put their own contemporary spin on producing still life works. It’s no longer an art reserved for paintings—still life can fall into any medium. Creators are constantly pushing the bar as they further explore visual art techniques and ideas, whether it’s in still life photography, graphic illustrations, or 3D renders.

Advancing technologies in design and photography have paved the way to a world of new opportunities in the still life genre. Images depicting modern-day objects and food also serve as a nod to the timelessness of still life—a 1,000-year-old practice.

A few more history lessons just for you:

• The Rich and Riveting History of Toile
• The History of Camouflage in Warfare and Fashion
• Envisioning a Better Tomorrow: The History of Art Activism
• From the 1800s to Present Day: The History of Food Photography
• The History of Photo-Worthy Summer Stripes in 20 Images

Cover image via Hermann Viria.

The post Still Life’s Journey Throughout History appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Here are five simple tools you can find in DaVinci Resolve that will help warp your sound effects to fit whatever genre you’re working with.

Let’s start by learning where you can find these effects. First, open up the Effects Library and scroll down to Audio FX. Here, you’ll find all the preset audio effects that Resolve offers you.

To apply one of these effects, simply click-and-drag it down onto the audio clip in your timeline. Once you’ve done this, you’ll see under the Effects tab on the right, every adjustment or feature of that effect listed below.

In terms of finding and using sound effects, where do you start? Lucky for all of us, DaVinci Resolve has a free library of sound effects that you can use.

First, download the library on the Fairlight page. To do this, just go to Sound Library—there should be an option to download the library from there. Here’s what you can expect to find when searching for a sound effect with this tool.

So, now that you know where to find sound effects, let’s talk about a few key ways Resolve let’s you manipulate them in whichever way you need.

1. Multiband Compressor

For this tool, think of your audio clip/sound effect as a multi-layered cake. There are different sounds and frequencies that make up a single “sound” or clip. This tool breaks those levels apart, allowing you to control certain frequencies as you need.

I’ve used this before with attempting to reduce the amount of noise in a clip. You can control the low, mid, and high frequencies in a clip, which means all of the sounds you don’t want or need are reduced dramatically, you can use this tool to control exactly when and how you lower or raise them.

While there is a Noise Reduction effect you can use, I’ve found greater success using the Multiband Compressor. If anything, when using these effects, there can be a certain level of intimidation or confusion because they’re so technical, but I tend to just play around with them until I find something that works. That’s editing, right?

2. Reverb

One of the most well-known and recognized effects you can apply to an audio clip is the Reverb effect. This effect gives the illusion that the sound was recorded in a big room or hall, with the audio bouncing off the walls. It’s a good way to end a track or sound effect as you transition into the next scene.

So, how do you use it? Well, Resolve has this “room size” tool for you to drag how big you want the room to be, in turn prolonging the effect. There’s also Reverb Time at the bottom, which allows you to extend the amount of echo you’re hearing.

3. Vocal Channel

This is another tool Resolve has that allows users to control all the sounds around actual voices and spoken recordings in your clip. So, for this one specifically, the High Pass tool at the bottom shows you and cuts the low frequencies of your clip. Ideally this reduces any noise that isn’t humans speaking.

It lowers the volume or frequency of the sounds, and you can track exactly where it drops or raises back up with the graph the tool provides. It also allows you to drag this effect wherever you need it on the clip.

4. Distortion

This isn’t so much a way to fix or correct your sounds as it is to manipulate your clips. One of the more popular ways to apply this tool is with the LoFi Radio and Megaphone feature, which does just that with your audio.

This is a nice way to make background noise or separate ADR sound analog-y, without actually recording it that way. As far as using these effects goes, it’s pretty straightforward.

Some of the different effects offered:

• Boost Mids
• Boost Presence
• Crunchy
• Fuzz Face
• HF Buzz
• LoFi Radio
• Megaphone

5. Foley Sampler

This one I’m new to but I couldn’t not include it on the list. It’s just too cool. This effect is a way to control and use your sound effects while you watch your video. That probably wasn’t the best way to describe it, but it allows you to configure the keyboard to whatever sound effects you have or are working with, then apply them to your film as it plays on your timeline. It’s almost like live-scoring your project with sound effects.

Ripple Training recently published a complete breakdown of how to use this tool:

In the example above, he takes recordings of footsteps that were recorded separately from the footage he’s working with, then tweaks them in the Foley Sampler tool. Next, he plays the clips as he controls when the footsteps need to be by watching the footage of the subject walking.

As he’s doing this, Resolve records his audio clip, then saves it as its own clip that he can apply to his timeline.

Voilà. Pretty incredible, right?

While there are many more Davinci Resolve audio effects, the best way to learn any of it is to just start playing around and applying things to your sound effects.

If you’re needing a few more sound effects to check out, we’ve only released hundreds of them for FREE.

For more video production tips, tricks, and advice, check out these articles:

• Jim Cummings’ YouTube Series Answers All Your Filmmaking Questions
• What Will the Soundtrack for Summer 2021 Entail?
• 5 Inexpensive Filmmaking Accessories You Need to Own
• What to Expect from the Return of Big-Budget Blockbusters
• Tips from Renowned Cinematographers for Your Next Film

Cover image via Alexander Levitsky.

The post DaVinci Resolve: 5 Audio Effects You Can Apply to Sound Effects appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

With Fashion Week underway and Anna Wintour’s famous Met Gala just around the corner, let’s take a look back at this 2006 classic.

Though The Devil Wears Prada isn’t technically a true story, it is a movie that exposed some brutal truths about the fashion industry to a wide audience. The 2003 bestseller it’s based on is a roman à clef—that is, a thinly-veiled fictionalization of real people—written by Lauren Weisberger, former assistant to Vogue’s legendary editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

In the screen version, Anne Hathaway stars as bright-eyed ingenue Andy, an aspiring journalist who somewhat implausibly stumbles into a job assisting Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestley, the fearsome editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Runway. As the title suggests, Miranda is monstrous, but she’s also extraordinary, and Andy finds herself drawn in against her better judgment. 

Since Andy undergoes such a dramatic shift throughout the movie—aesthetically, as well as emotionally—it’s intriguing to wonder what kind of mood board she’d put together. Here are a few ideas . . . 

The Inspiration: Serious Journalism 

Much to the horror of Andy’s Runway colleagues, she has no interest in fashion, and has never even heard of her new boss. She wants to be a serious journalist—as the editor of her student paper, she wrote an award-winning series of articles on the janitors’ union—and only deigns to work at Runway because it’s the only publication that responded to her application.

But, by the end of the movie, she moves on to a dream newspaper job, thanks to a surprise recommendation from Miranda. 

“There’s kind of a romance between Andy and Miranda, and the audience wants to know how it gets resolved, so we wanted to leave them with some closure,” screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna told Films42 of that moment, which doesn’t appear in the book.

“Miranda doesn’t give Andy anything when they see each other on the street [at the end], she doesn’t smile at her, but we know.”

The Inspiration: Carbs 

There are a few things that set Andy apart from her prickly Runway coworkers. She’s capable of smiling, she’s (gasp) a size six, and she eats carbs. Specifically, a lot of really delicious-looking sandwiches.

On her way to the office for her Runway interview, she grabs a classic onion bagel, which Nigel (Stanley Tucci) can later smell on her. And, after a truly awful day, her chef boyfriend Nate does, perhaps, the only useful thing in the entire movie—makes her a grilled cheese sandwich with Jarlsberg. (Important to note: She doesn’t actually eat it, though. Miranda’s influence.) 

The Inspiration: Burnout 

To say Andy’s thrown in the deep end is an understatement. She’s on call for Miranda 24/7, expected to juggle seventeen tasks at once, and work actual miracles—like finding a flight from Florida to New York in the middle of a hurricane—and look immaculate as she does it.

Miranda has no boundaries and makes unreasonable demands on Andy’s personal time, which starts to impact her relationship with her friends and boyfriend. The stress soon takes a toll, and it’s only thanks to a savage pep talk from Stanley Tucci’s Nigel that Andy sticks it out. 

According to McKenna, she had to dial up the intensity and brutality of the world after her initial draft, on the advice of an anonymous fashion insider. “I had enormous trouble finding anyone in the fashion world who’d talk to me, because people were afraid of Anna and Vogue, not wanting to be blackballed,” she told EW.

“There was one person who spoke to me, whose name I will never divulge, who read it and said, ‘The people in this movie are too nice. No one in that world is too nice. They don’t have to be, and they don’t have time to be.’ After that, I did a pass to make everyone a bit busier and meaner.”

The Inspiration: Downtown Manhattan (Specifically Tribeca)

When Andy finally does get to go home, she can retreat from the fast-paced world of The Elias-Clark Company and ride the subway back downtown to her stunning Tribeca loft.

While it’s not totally clear how she and Nate can afford the rent on this place, the suspension of disbelief is worth it—just look at all those beautiful cobblestone streets that Andy gets to exhaustedly walk through!

The Inspiration: Vintage Vogue Covers 

Though no one mentions the name Vogue, it’s clear that Runway is a stand-in for the iconic fashion magazine. And, despite her initial lack of interest in all things fashion, Andy gets seduced by the unique power and history of the Runway brand.

If she had an online mood board, it’d surely include a few vintage covers as she starts to delve more into the magazine’s history. 

The Inspiration: Breaking up 

Let’s face it, Andy’s relationship with Nate was never going to last, with or without the added strain of her demanding job. He’s unsupportive of her dreams, and casually dismissive toward her well before she gives him any reason to be. When she tells him she got hired at a fashion magazine, his incredulous response is: “What was it, a phone interview?”

But Nate isn’t wrong to be upset as he watches Andy transform into a totally different, more callous person, who prioritizes work over everything else—including his birthday. Their breakup is a long time coming, and Anne Hathaway felt strongly that they shouldn’t reconcile romantically at the end of the movie. 

“The movie used to end with a slightly more upbeat scene with Nate, more of a reconciliation,” McKenna told EW. “They’re so young and they’re choosing spouses for their life, but we know that twenty-five-year-olds are not in that position . . . I had written a more conventional ending where they run through the park together or something.”

The Inspiration: Fashion Week

Andy’s transformation from ingenue to devil-in-the-making is complete when she says yes to accompanying Miranda to Paris Fashion Week in place of long-suffering executive assistant Emily (Emily Blunt), whose entire life has basically been leading up to this trip.

It’s also during Fashion Week that Andy realizes just how cutthroat Miranda is, and how mistaken she’s been to invest all of her time and energy in trying to please her. But, before all of that, she gets to take in some stunning runway looks. 

Despite the movie’s couture pedigree, costume designer Patricia Field didn’t have a huge budget to work with—and some big names in fashion balked at taking part, for fear of upsetting Anna Wintour.

“I personally was not worried about reactions from the fashion industry,” she told Racked. “We had a few designers who were a bit frightened to participate . . . but I just told them, first of all, I’m not doing Anna Wintour, and second of all, I would never want to pressure any designer into something they were not comfortable with. It’s not like we only had three choices in terms of which designers we pulled.”

The Inspiration: Paris 

Though Andy’s trip to the City of Lights becomes a dark night of the soul for her, the city also clearly exhilarates her. Sometimes, a change of scenery is exactly what you need to bring things into focus. And, for Andy, the Paris trip makes her realize she’s heading down a path she doesn’t like.

So, what’s a girl to do but dramatically step out of her cab, stride across a busy street, and throw her work phone into a Parisian fountain?

For more fashion-forward articles, you’ll want to read these:

• Weird to Couture: Images of Fashion-Forward Cats Ready for a Close-Up
• How to Create Iconic Fashion Portraits: Lessons from Arthur Elgort
• 2020’s Wondrous and Weird Fashion Moments on the Catwalk
• What Fashion Will Look Like Post-Pandemic
• Legally Blonde Turns 20: Imagining an Elle Woods Pinterest Board

Cover image via Sean Pavone.

The post The Devil Wears Prada: Andy’s Shutterstock Vision Board appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Bored of the same old orange and rust fall color palettes? Neons look exceptionally modern combined with autumnal shades.

Why do neons work so beautifully with fall hues? The colors of autumn are rich, transient, and cozy, while neons are exuberant and obvious. Consider neons the extrovert counterbalance to autumn’s introverted mood. Bring a much-needed dose of dopamine and energy to traditional schemes as the darker evenings approach. 

To wake up your palette this season with an acid pop of neon color, check out these ten FREE palettes that incorporate neon in a fresh, fall-themed way.

• Discover 100s of color combinations with Shutterstock’s Color Spectrum

How to Use Your Neon Fall Palettes

Perhaps you have a seasonal marketing campaign coming up, or are preparing for a harvest or Halloween event. Whatever your project this season, these ten FREE fall color palettes offer an alternative to the usual rust and berry tones favored during these transitional months. 

Of course, the distinctive colors of the season make an appearance, with burnt orange, antique gold, and berry red lending an autumnal feel to otherwise alternative hues of neon mint, acid green, and Crayola yellow. Each palette presents a collection of colors that can give branding, illustration, print, or web designs more character and style. 

While some of the palettes take their inspiration from nature’s fall palette, others look to seasonal events or moods—Día de Muertos, rain-spattered city streets, etc.

Scroll down to find your new favorite fall palette, and discover how neons can enliven your seasonal designs. Why not pin your chosen palette to a Pinterest board or save to your computer to come back to later?

10 Fall Palettes That Incorporate Neon Colors

1. Autumn in the Park

Here, neon cyan, deep blue, orange, and cherry red combine to evoke the feel of a crisp fall day in the park. This palette gives a fresh take on complementary tones of blue and red.

Even though pure cyan is an exceptionally bright neon tone, here it’s tempered by richer colors, resulting in a complex, modern palette.

2. Dusky Neons

At this time of year, the air is moister and mistier, giving the landscape an ethereal personality. This soft palette takes its inspiration from these misty mornings which distort the light, giving everything a pink and purple glow.

Neon lavender and turquoise pair with neon pastel pink and cornflower blue for an otherworldly palette. 

3. Lichen and Concrete

This contemporary neon scheme, which takes its cues from rain-swept urban streets and the unexpectedly brash colors of woodland lichen, is a perfect way of incorporating autumnal orange into a more trend-forward scheme.

When combined with Pantone’s Colors of the Year, Illuminating and Ultimate Gray, orange feels more vibrant and urban. Charcoal anchors the scheme.

This would be the perfect palette to use for seasonal projects that require a different approach or a modern edge. 

4. Berry and Mint

Neon mint green might not be immediately reminiscent of the fall season, but when combined with berry tones, it’s suitably seasonal.

This scheme feels at once both fresh and mature, with petrol blue lending the palette a sophisticated, oceanic element.

5. Into the Woods

Decay might not be an immediate source of fall-themed inspiration, but in these months of transition, it’s deterioration and decomposition that lends fall woodlands their characteristic and mesmerizing colors.

Combine neon purple and neon pink with slate blue and inky black for an atmospheric palette that pays tribute to the beauty of decay. A fantastic alternative palette for sophisticated Halloween schemes.

6. Neon Aurora

The northern lights (aurora borealis) are visible between the fall and spring equinox, which means if you’re lucky enough to glance up on a dark night in the far northern hemisphere from late August, you may just catch a glimpse of this seasonal spectacle.

This palette is inspired by the neon pastel hues visible in nature’s greatest light show, creating a candy-hued scheme that would suit both fall and Halloween-themed designs.

7. Halloween Harvest

This palette combines more typical fall colors of orange, rust red, and leaf green with an acid injection of fluro green.

The changing colors of forest foliage combine with Ghostbuster green for a palette that summarizes the natural spectacle and spooky celebrations of the fall season. 

8. Full Moon

A playful take on contrast, this palette combines neon Crayola yellow and rich pure blue with more conventional autumn tones of caramel and rusty red-brown. This palette balances energetic and cozy colors to create a scheme that is both fresh and comfortingly seasonal.

Use this high-contrast palette for branding and logo designs that are launching in the fall months, without making the scheme feel overtly seasonal.

9. Día de los Muertos

This palette conjures up the festival atmosphere of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday that takes place on November 1. Characterized by participants wearing incredible costumes and makeup, the celebration involves families gathering to pray for their departed loved ones, often congregating at the family tomb to say prayers throughout the night.

The holiday is not considered a somber affair, but rather a vibrant and lively event involving parades and celebrations, a continuation of the belief that the dead are still members of the community and—for one night—return to Earth.

This neon scheme combines some of the symbolic and festive colors of the holiday, with marigold yellow (a flower popularly used to decorate gravesites) and purple (a color used to represent mourning) featuring as frequently-used colors in Day of the Dead decorations. Neon aqua lends festival spirit, while deep, inky blue adds atmospheric depth.

10. Acid Gray

This smart, sophisticated palette is a fresh take on back-to-school hues of navy and gray. Neon green-yellow makes the scheme feel sporty rather than lethargic, while sage gray adds softness to this otherwise masculine palette.

If you’re creating seasonal content for a corporate business and want to avoid conventional rust and orange colors, this scheme will bring a new season feel to proposals and websites that really means business.

Eager for the fall season to begin? Seeking more color inspiration? We’ve got you covered:

• 3 Creative Ways to Embrace Autumn in Your Designs
• Fantastic Fall-Themed Design to Inspire You for the New Season
• The Colors of Dutch Culture Go Way Past Orange
• Discover the 2021 Color Trends
• The Designer’s Toolbox: How To Use Color to Evoke Emotion in Design

Cover image via Bushko Oleksanda.

The post 10 FREE Fall Color Palettes: Incorporate Neon into Fall appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Travel photographer Susan Portnoy shares some hardline advice for those wanting to explore the world as a profession.

Susan Portnoy is a New York-based, award-winning freelance photographer who specializes in travel, wildlife, portraits, and street photography. After a successful career in communications and public relations working for major firms like Condé Nast, Susan decided to follow her passion for travel, making the leap to become a professional photographer.

Since going full-time in 2018, her work has appeared in The Globe & Mail, Today.com, US News & World Reports, Mashable, and One.org, among other outlets. She also created the blog The Insatiable Traveler.

“While it’s scary to begin a new life after forty, I’m much happier, and I’ve had some incredible experiences,” she says.

Here she shares advice for traveling the world as a professional photographer.

Establish a Sense of Place

Good travel photography offers its viewers a sense of place, so that they’re immediately drawn in and situated. “You don’t want to do a street photograph that could be New York, Chicago, or London,” Portnoy says. “You want to make sure that there is something to these images that speak to and define that country or that destination.”

For a series of photos, it’s important to get an establishing shot and a more close-up shot—a detail of something that is specific to the scene. For example, when photographing villagers in the mountains of Mongolia, Portnoy captured details like a handmade saddle and gear, and the path where they lead their horses.

Study the Wildlife

Getting a feel for wildlife takes time. On multiple trips to Africa, Portnoy focused on learning the behavior of various animals so she could come to anticipate their actions.

“When I first went, I would miss things, and I’d see another photographer got this amazing angle, or this amazing moment,” she says. The reason? “He knew they always do that when that happens.”

Get Ready to Work Hard

There’s a common misconception that travel photography consists of having lots of fun first, then doing the real work after the fact. But, that’s not the case.

Portnoy works around-the-clock on her trips, taking notes, thinking about what to photograph, getting up before dawn to get that sunrise, and waiting around for the sunset.

Sometimes, she’ll pitch a story after the trip, as opposed to going in with an assignment, which means she has to shoot for the possibility of multiple ideas, unsure of which will stick.

She also edits as she goes, to be certain she’s got what she needs. “We do make mistakes,” she says. “Let’s say I misjudged my shutter speed for a boat ride, and it was a little too slow for that moment, and I couldn’t quite tell on the LCD. I can see it on a computer and correct my mistakes and make sure I’m on it going forward.”

Plan, Plan, Plan

There are a lot of logistics to consider when embarking on a trip as a photographer. For instance, packing requires planning ahead for special arrangements and extra fees.

“In many countries, to get where you’re going, you’re using small planes with very little cargo space and weight limits,” Portnoy says. “You have to be very conscious of it.” (In Kenya, Portnoy’s client will help pay for the weight of her camera gear, which is not insignificant.) “My wildlife lens that Canon is loaning me is eight pounds itself, and you can only bring about thirty pounds total.”

You’ll also need travel insurance that covers medical and evacuation costs. Becoming sick or injured in remote places requires major logistics to get you out. Plus, most companies that transport you to these destinations require such coverage. “The boat I was on in Antarctica wouldn’t let you onboard without evacuation insurance,” Portnoy says.

Consider Your Finances

Travel photography isn’t cheap. Sometimes everything is paid for—either by a publication or a destination that wants publicity. But, in many cases, Portnoy has to pay part or all of her own way. In those instances, Portnoy considers whether the excursion in question will be beneficial to her down the road. Will the trip earn her greater respect in the industry? Will she be getting access she might not otherwise get?

To mitigate costs, she tries to take both commercial and branded content, as well. Those higher-paid jobs help to fund other trips.

“I also recommend that you have savings that you can dip into,” she says. Her time in PR allowed her to build a nest egg to see her through slow times, like this pandemic year. “I have a cushion and that’s really important.”

Anticipate COVID-Related Setbacks

The global pandemic has greatly impacted the travel industry. “It hit me hard,” Portnoy says. “As soon as March 2020 hit, it was absurd to write about travel. It was inappropriate.” A trip commissioned by Newsweek just before the world shut down has yet to run. “It’s sort of dangling out there.” (Pre-COVID, Portnoy was traveling pretty much once every month.)

Things are now slowly starting back up. Portnoy has a forthcoming assignment in upstate New York, and she expects to go to Kenya in October. But, it’s still iffy for travel to far-flung locations.

“A lot of locations are not being marketed because they’re overrun—Hawaii is telling people to stay away—and tourist bureau budgets have been cut,” Portnoy says.

She was supposed to go to Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago, in August for a major publication, but has so far been unable to make it happen. “The gears are starting to work, but it needs a lot of oil before it’s going to go smoothly.”

Be Honest with Yourself

You need to have some good pictures under your belt, and you need to be honest with yourself about those images.

“Get someone’s thoughts on your images besides your parents or friends because, at the end of the day, that’s what’s going to represent you,” Portnoy says. “Make sure you are good, and not just ‘friends and family’ good.”

She also advises using Instagram because editors look at the platform. Post quality pictures, and think about the captions. “If you can write as well, hone your skills as a writer. That has benefited me in that I can provide a package,” she says.

“And finally—this is so cliché—persevere. Because it’s hard and you’re going to get a lot more noes than yeses.”

Photography is an exciting profession. Here are a few more exciting articles for you:

• 10 Travel Photographers on Instagram You Need to Follow
• 5 Unusual and Unexpected Destinations for Travel Photographers
• 7 Pro Photographers on Shooting Inspirational Travel Footage
• Voice of the Artist: How One Brazilian Photographer Approaches Inclusivity
• Voice of the Artist: How to Take Stunning Photos of Water

Cover image via Susan Portnoy.

The post Tips from Globetrotting Travel Photographer Susan Portnoy appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jerry Saltz offers ideas that can help anyone rise above the pressures—and fears—of being an artist.

Anyone who wants to be an artist, observes Jerry Saltz in his bestselling book How to Be an Artist, faces a raft of questions: What happens if you didn’t go to school for this? What if I suffer from impostor syndrome? How do I know if my art is working?

Anyone doing creative work wonders not just What am I trying to say? But, more deeply, Can I do it? In these seven tips adapted from his book, the Pulitzer Prize–winning critic offers ideas that can help anyone rise above external pressure—and internal fears—and do their best work.

1. You’ve Got to Want It

If there’s a Rule One for doing good work, this is it. Even an artist as seemingly unpromising as Jackson Pollock essentially willed himself to success. Painter Julian Lethbridge puts it this way: “To be an artist,” he says, “it helps to be persistent, obstinate, and determined.’

“These are the things that enable an artist not to banish, but to outwit the doubts that will come from many di­rections.” Whatever work you do, this drive, this need, is what will help you face situational and emotional headwinds.

Wanting it is what allows us to keep coming back to the work, feeling around for the ideas, inspirations, dream­scapes, and other thermal updrafts that will carry you through fear and doubt. Persistence, determination, and obstinacy give you energy. They’ll get you through hell, taking you from want­ing it to doing it to living it.

2. Don’t Be Embarrassed

Making art can be humiliating. Terrifying. It can leave you feeling exposed, vulnerable, like getting naked in front of another person for the first time. The same goes for showing any new work to others—whether it’s a photograph, a report, or a new business idea.

It can feel like an opportunity for others to judge you as dull, or stupid, or untalented. All this is fine. When I work, my mind races with doubts: None of this is any good. It makes no sense. Anyone who sees this will know I’m a dope.

But, try thinking of your work as if it were birdsong. It’s made of patterns, inflections, a hundred tiny choices—all things that carry emotional and substantial meaning, even when those meanings are below the surface.

The most creative work you do will draw on everything about you—your memories, the time you spent working, your hopes, energies, and neuro­ses, the times you live in—and your ambitions.

Don’t worry about whether your ideas are “good” or “fresh” or “actionable.” Let go of being “good.” Instead, think about creating—and about the you that stands behind your creation.

3. Use Your Workspace

For any artist, the studio is a sanctum: an inventor’s laboratory, teenager’s bedroom, séance cham­ber, mechanic’s garage, and launch pad. The same is true if your workspace is a fluorescent-lit office or even a dining room table you clear off at night.

You are a god here, responsible for everything that happens. Here, you can look for new architectures, create your own constellations, and fol­low through on any idea you wish, no matter how silly-sounding.

When you come to your workspace in the morning, try getting into your body a little bit before you sit down to work. Breathe, pace, do whatever it takes to prepare yourself. Before you leave for the day, try to leave a little something unfinished. It’ll help you get back into your work the next morn­ing.

The décor of your workspace will bleed into your imagination, so think about the postcards, photos, and personal objects you display there, and change them up regularly.

When you’re stuck, or feeling muddled, try cleaning your desk, moving things around, mak­ing new piles of old clutter. Maybe you’ll find something in a pile that sparks a new idea—mushrooms into fresh growth. And, you’ll be making space for what Goethe re­quested on his deathbed: “More light.”

4. There Are No Wasted Days

Your mind is always working, even when you think it’s idling. Even doing nothing can be a form of working—can be, if you learn to think that way. This is also true when you’re out walking, traveling, worrying, staying awake all night, whatever. All these things will be part of your work. Even when you seem to be going nowhere, things are happening. You are your method. Your life is part of your work.

“A bad day is a good day,” the painter Stanley Whitney said, “because a bad day is when you’re trying to take it to a different level.”

5. Have Courage

We’ve all done things in life that took real courage and sacri­fice, even if others never saw them. We brave our fears, doubts, and demons every time we put forth new work. All good work has courage in it.

Grant your own work that agency. Put your faith in it. Let it clear a path for you to proceed. Asking others for guidance, looking for mentors, submitting your ideas to the judgment of others—all of this requires tremendous faith.

Take inspiration from artists like the now-famous Alice Neel, who worked away at her rough-hewn portraits up in her Harlem apartment, when no one else was doing anything like them. Or Alex Katz, making his big, flat figurative paintings in the face of the jugger­naut of abstraction. Or Cy Twombly, who chose erratic scrawls as the carrier of his art. They allowed their work to follow its own intuitive logic, leading them to landmark careers.  

Courage is a desperate gamble that will place you in the arms of creative angels.

6. Learn to Deal with Rejection

I tell artists to grow elephant skin, because they’re going to need it. Criticism happens, even to the masters. After a precocious debut, Claude Monet was rejected repeatedly by the Paris Salon. A con­temporary critic wrote, “Does Mr. Degas know nothing about drawing?” In 1956, “after careful consideration,” the Museum of Modern Art rejected a shoe drawing Andy Warhol had offered them.

See? We critics are wrong every day. As one curator wrote, “A review is just you or me having an opinion.” When you get a critical review, it may well be that the critic couldn’t see far enough.

Don’t get taken down by bad critiques—they don’t define you. But don’t ignore them, either. Keep your rejection letters, bad reviews, and the rest. Paste them on your wall. Accept that any piece of criticism might have a grain of truth to it.

Maybe the person judging you just didn’t get what you were going for. Or, maybe you haven’t yet found a way to make your work speak to the people you’re trying to reach. That’s on you. Take it in. Don’t blow it out of proportion. Then get back to work.

I always tell anyone criticizing me, “You could be right.” It has a nice double edge. Sometimes the victim never feels a thing.

7. Deadlines from Heaven

Deadlines are sent from heaven via hell. When you have to finish a certain job by a certain time, the pressure can sicken you, make you feel rotten. I haven’t not been queasy with deadlines since I became a weekly critic. But, dead­lines force you to muster the mettle to work.

Procrastina­tion is a self-harming habit. Deadlines are important for forcing the issue, concentrating your work, prompting unexpected epipha­nies, and keeping you living under the psychological volcano. If you don’t have a deadline, set one for yourself.

Many famous artists have even set their own one-day deadlines: Keith Haring, Pablo Picasso, On Kawara, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Henry Taylor, Frank Auerbach, etc. It’s a trick that helps you keep your mind open, your ideas always developing.

Get it done. It’ll change your life.

From How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz, with permission of Riverhead, an imprint of the Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2020 by Jerry Saltz.

A few more art-inspiring articles for you:

• 8 Famous Creative Artists Who Worked From Home
• The Rise of Minimalist Illustrations: Why We’re Attracted to Simplicity
• Voice of the Artist: Talking Creativity with Illustrator Helena Perez Garcia
•  Rare Portraits of Famous Artists
• Seven 20th-Century Writers and Artists Who Defied the Status Quo

Cover image via Walter Sanders/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock.

The post 7 Artist’s Tips That Will Change How You Work Forever appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

A cool breeze. Falling leaves. Autumn is around the corner. Showcase the beauty of fall with these FREE nature-themed illustrations.

Picture yourself on a brisk fall walk: The cool air. The leaves crunching beneath your feet. Perhaps you stop to inspect a patch of wild mushrooms or pick a few seasonal flowers. Sounds nice, right?

When it comes to nature, fall has all the seasons beat. With that in mind, we created this FREE Fall Botanical Clip Art Pack. Scroll down to find out what’s included in the bundle. Plus, get ideas (and one nifty tutorial) for how to use them.

Included in this FREE Fall Botanical Clip Art Pack

This pack contains thirteen botanical illustrations, including:

• Five autumn leaves
• Four flowers (Pansy, Black-Eyed Susan, Aster, and Marigold)
• Two mushrooms
• An acorn
• A pinecone

The clip arts were created with a natural, soft watercolor style in mind, with a subdued autumn color palette. Each clip art comes in a high-quality .png file that you can use digitally or in print up to size A3. And, of course, the files have a transparent background, making them easy-to-use—whether you’re a beginner or pro.

How to Download Your FREE Fall Botanical Clip Art Pack

Download the pack for FREE by clicking on the red download button below. Once the file has downloaded, extract the zip file to un-package its content.

FREE Fall Botanical Clip Arts Here

By downloading this FREE Autumn Botanical Clip Art Pack, you agree not to resell or redistribute these assets.

Design Ideas for Using the FREE Fall Botanical Clip Arts

One of the greatest thing about botanical clip art is their versatility. Here are some cool ideas for incorporating these illustrations into your designs.

Botanical Border

Use these clip arts as a border for your photo, text, or other design elements. You can set them as a full-frame or use them as accents.

Botanical Landing Page

When the season changes, it’s time to change your brand’s website landing page, as well.

Floral Monogram

A floral monogram is commonly used for wedding invitations. It may look fancy, but it’s a design that even a beginner can tackle.

Create this elegant design by following our step-by-step tutorial below.

How to Make a Floral Monogram Using Shutterstock Editor

Step 1: Choose Document Size

Once you open Shutterstock Editor, it will prompt you to choose a size for your design. To create an invitation cover, we’re going to use a standard invitation size, 5×7 inches.

Make sure the resolution is 300 dpi so that your design doesn’t lose quality when printed.

Step 2: Input Text

Insert the initials that you want to use as a monogram. You can play with a combination of Fill, Outline, and Transparency.

Step 3: Upload Downloaded Clip Arts

Upload the botanical clip art files you’ve extracted from their compressed zip form. To do so, choose My Files > Uploads. Choose the clip arts you want to use, or just upload them all so that they’re ready to use any time.

Step 4: Decorate Your Text

Focus on decorating just one small section of each letter, such as a corner or a curve. And, don’t forget, have fun with it!

Step 5: Download

When you’re finished, click the red download button at the top-right corner. Choose the .png file type for a high-quality print result.

Want more freebies? Who doesn’t! Check these out:

• FREE Botanical PowerPoint Presentation Templates
• Hey Music Lovers! Download this FREE Clip Art Now!
• FREE: Download These Game-Changing Desktop Wallpaper Organizers
• Download Today: FREE Tropical Botanical Clip Art
• Free Fall Foliage Vectors and Overlays

Cover image shadow overlay via Nuchlyee.

The post FREE Fall Botanical Clip Art Pack – Download Now! appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Toile was popularized in 18th century France and remains fashionable to this day. Let’s take a closer look at this romantic, whimsical pattern.

Translated from French, the word “toile” simply means “cloth.” But, in the world of prints, it conjures something specific—an intricate pastoral scene, often rendered in shades of blue or red, against a white or cream linen or cotton.

That’s the kind of toile that’s short for toile de Jouy, named for the French town where the pattern rose to popularity in the 18th century. More than 300 years later, toile fabrics still pop up everywhere. You’ll find it on the runway, in wallpaper, even on sneakers and children’s toys. 

The Origins of Toile

Though toile was available in Ireland and England in the early 1700s, it didn’t take off until 1760, when the French-German industrialist Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf set up shop in the town of Jouy-en-Josas.

But first, some context: After France started importing cotton in the 1500s, the fabric became so popular that it started threatening the country’s own textile production of silk and wool, which were harder to care for and more expensive. In 1686, the country enacted a ban on the import of cotton. But, when it was overturned in 1759, Oberkampf made his move. 

He chose Jouy-en-Josas for two reasons: 1) it was close to Paris, home to the nation’s most fashionable individuals. And, 2) it was near the Bièvre River, where factory workers could wash the fabrics. The town also happened to be located on the route from Paris to Versailles, meaning that wealthy travelers could see Oberkampf’s fabrics laying out on the grass to dry while they were going to and from the palace.

It was a savvy method of free advertising that quickly paid off because, eventually, the designs made their way to the queen herself. 

Marie Antoinette: Trendsetter

As with flower crowns and giant hairpieces, Marie Antoinette was hugely influential in making toile de Jouy the print of the late 18th century, whether it was on a dress, wallpaper, or seat cushion.

She was so enthralled by Oberkampf’s work that she actually visited the factory in 1781, and even brought along her children, who had so much fun that they returned to Versailles with their hands covered in dye. 

Though the platonic ideal of toile usually involves a pastoral scene, truly anything went. And, Oberkampf was instrumental in pushing the boundaries of what could end up immortalized on cotton.

He employed some of the best artists of his time to design illustrations for his fabrics, including painter Jean-Baptiste Huet, who created some of the factory’s most iconic prints.

Huet created landscape scenes featuring buxom shepherdesses, of course, but he also created a print to commemorate the first hot-air balloon flight and another one to honor Bastille Day. One of his more meta designs even depicted the different stages of manufacturing textiles. 

Colonial American Toile

While toile de Jouy was exploding in popularity in France, a similar craze was happening across the Atlantic in the English colonies. Like France, England had a problem with cotton imports dragging down their silk and wool industries. So, the country enacted a series of bans and tariffs called the Calico Acts that lasted until 1774. All that cotton had to go somewhere, though, so the English sent it to America.

Country scenes and floral patterns were popular there, too, but after the Declaration of Independence, patriotic designs became the new trend. Colonial Americans could find toiles depicting the American Revolution, Betsy Ross sewing the American flag, and William Penn signing a treaty with the Lenni Lenape tribe. Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, also incorporated toile into the décor at Monticello. 

The fabric became so associated with America that it experienced a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s, when much of the country was gripped with bicentennial fever. Contemporary designers created old-fashioned patterns made to look as though they came from the 1700s, like one that showed various Philadelphia landmarks, including Independence Hall.

Older millennials may also recall that Felicity, the American Girl doll who lived in colonial Williamsburg, had her own toile bedspread, decorated with a red floral print. 

Modern Interpretations

Though toile cycles in and out of fashion like any other print, its popularity—especially for home décor—means that it’s never really gone out of style.

In the past twenty years, there’s been an explosion of modern, sometimes cheeky, toiles that have made their way to tote bags, Converse sneakers, and swim trunks.  

Interior designer Sheila Bridges is behind one of the most iconic new toiles—Harlem toile. She created the fabric after never finding a toile that spoke to her experience as an African American woman. She describes her Harlem toile, which is now in the Smithsonian Design Museum’s permanent collection, as an attempt to lampoon “some of the stereotypes deeply woven into the African American experience.”

At this point, you can find toile de Jouy in basically any design you can imagine. There’s a Women of Science and Learning toile, featuring portraits of groundbreakers like Jane Goodall and Marie Curie. A Brooklyn toile, decorated with landmarks from New York’s most populous borough. And a Doctor Who toile, covered in tiny pictures of the Tardis. The possibilities are truly endless. 

Haute Toile

Outside of the ’70s bicentennial surge, there have also been several toile moments in the history of high fashion. For her resort 2020 show, Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri incorporated updated takes on toile de Jouy, manufactured by Cote D’Ivoire company Uniwax and featuring lions, tarot cards, and winged mythological creatures. 

2013 saw another explosion of toile on the runway, with Oscar de la Renta showing toiles in vivid shades of scarlet and lime green for his fall collection. Carven’s spring 2013 show, meanwhile, featured several looks made of a toile print covered in animals you’d see on safari—and the gawking tourists clutching their binoculars.

The New York–based designers at Ruffian were on the same wavelength that season, sending out models dressed in a Brooklyn-inspired toile print made in collaboration with the artist John Gordon Gauld. 

The next toile de Jouy renaissance could be just around the corner—until then, there’s toile covered in dinosaurs.

Fashion is addictive! Here’s a few more fun ones for you:

• Mad for Plaid: The Intricacies of Plaid Throughout History
• Maximalist Fashion—Ripped from the Pages of 1960s Vogue
• What You Really See from the Steps of the Met Gala
• Legally Blonde Turns 20: Imagining an Elle Woods Pinterest Board
• 2020’s Wondrous and Weird Fashion Moments on the Catwalk

Cover image via Shutterstock’s The History of Cotton Toile Collection.

The post The Rich and Riveting History of Toile appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Enjoy these FREE, printable rainy day activity sheets and learn how to make playful learning materials using PixelSquid! Tutorial included!

Today, we’re sharing three printable rainy day activity sheets that can be used in the classroom or at home. They may seem daunting at first, but the secret lies in the organization of your assets as you keep adding more elements to create your worksheet.

Check out the tutorial below so we can create one together!

How to Download the FREE Rainy Day Activity Sheets

These FREE activities focus on science and biodiversity. The sheets—along with their answer keys—can be printed out and enjoyed by students in your class or at home.

Simply click on the download button below, then extract the zip file:

• 8 files available in high-quality, ready-to-print .jpg:
  • African animals seek-and-find
    • Includes one answer key
  • Butterfly city (search for and label each stage of the caterpillar-to-butterfly lifecycle)
    • Includes one answer key
  • Photosynthesis is . . . (two pages of cut-and-paste elements showing how plants utilize photosynthesis)
    • Includes one answer key

Creative Teaching, Creative Design

This one goes out to all the teachers and educators in our lives. It’s possible you’ve come across a situation where you were hoping for a resource or means of explaining a particular idea, but couldn’t find the suitable visuals.

Or, perhaps you wanted to create some playful, educational materials but feared you didn’t have the time or right skillsets. Well, today is your lucky day.

I’m here to show you how I created one of the above sheets using PixelSquid. The artwork might look complicated, but once I show you how easily I created them, you’ll understand.

Quick Tip: It’s All About Organizing Your Layers

When you create images like these, think in terms of compartmentalizing your layers. I’m sure you’re aware of “groups” in Photoshop. If used correctly, they’ll help you stay focused by helping you stay within specific levels or stages of your artwork or design.

In other words, groups in Photoshop are like floors in a building, containing the different significant elements on each floor of your artwork.

For example, this African Animals Worksheet has:

• Map, water, waves, and fog (first group or floor one)
• Grass and sand (second group or floor two)
• Pond (third group or floor three)
• Animals (forth group or floor four)

And it continues . . .

Look at my layers below: 

They are compartmentalized in folder groups and also color-coded so that they:  

• Help you focus on one stage (or level) of the artwork at a time.
• Are easier to find and edit a specific layer of the composition.
• Encourages you to add more and keep pushing your artwork.
• Enables you to hone quickly into the folders you want to modify.

Please pay close attention to my layers throughout this article, as they’ll give you a hint of what I’m doing.

Finding the Right Pieces

Begin by creating Lightboxes in PixelSquid. I find it more convenient when hunting for specific objects within PixelSquid’s massive catalog.

I created a new Lightbox called “African animals,” and populated it with all the models I wanted to use for this project.

If you’d like to learn more about how I utilize PixelSquid’s website, refer to my other article—”A Graphic Designer’s Journal: Touring Japan Through Design.”

Creating the Background

For the map of the world, I headed over to Shutterstock. I downloaded the simplest one I could find so that I could later create my own landscape textures on top of it. 

Open the image in Photoshop and place Africa in the center canvas, then add the ponds as well as the waves. Waves are made with the pen tool and duplicated throughout the expansive oceans.

Be careful not to go overboard. Subtle is good here.

With my models already snugly contained within the PixelSquid Lightboxes tab in Photoshop (they automatically populate from the site to the plugin), I started populating the content with some cactus.

To add randomness, slightly rotate your objects (you don’t want your objects to look identical). Minor modifications like this really go a long way. I did the same thing to the trees and rocks.

Placing the Mighty African Animals

This part took a bit longer than I would’ve liked because I had to figure out how to scale the animals—large animals need to look bigger than their smaller counterparts—without exaggerating too much.

Solution: Place the animals next to an object, like a tree or stone, to determine their scale. Scale issue fixed!

Note: I have one folder at the top titled “Top Animal” so I can place the “Argema Mittrei” (yellow butterfly) on top of the plant in Madagascar.

If I had added more flying birds in this artwork, I’d have placed all of them in there to appear on top of everything else.

Adding the Land Textures

I headed over to Shutterstock to obtain two gorgeous tileable grass and sand pictures for the land textures. 

When creating things like this, make sure they are tileable. When you first load the image in Photoshop, the grass scale is huge compared to the size of the map. And, when you scale it down to get the desired grass size, it won’t cover the entire map.

To solve this problem, duplicate the grass, then place each next to one other. When you do this, because they’re tileable, you won’t see any seams.

Did you notice that I placed these two textures inside a folder called Grass and Sand?

I did this for two reasons:

• First, I want these textures to be masked with the shape of the continent’s border.
• Second, I want to use an individual folder mask of the grass and sand to mask them out individually.

While masking the various parts of the land texture, I found it easier to turn on all the layers (plants and animals) to see where the land was appearing in relation to the overall composition.

Adding the Final Touches (the Zing Part)

The zing is what I call non-critical elements that enhance your artwork. They fill any empty spots and make your scene look positively enriched with random elements, similar to how the real world looks.

You’ll see me using this in a lot of my work. I find that it deepens what I do and gives the art a bit more character. You know how smart kids are! They’ll pick up on these details and appreciate it.

So my zing elements include:

• Humans
• Airplanes
• Ships
• Clouds
• And some fog

As always, think in terms of creating the groups in stages. One group of elements at a time.

I love clouds, so I started placing them in first. I hadn’t selected them in my initial Lightbox, so I searched for clouds inside PixelSquid’s plugin within Photoshop.

Side note: If there’s one group of elements that really pleases me in PixelSquid, it’s the abundance of pre-created cloud, smoke, fire, and explosion elements they offer. Plus they have transparencies that are super clean. 

One important thing worth mentioning is that I had to separate the distance between the clouds and their shadows, and blur out the shadows so that they appeared above everything else. How?

Double-click on the cloud’s smart object layer. Use the Transform tool to tweak the feather property of the shadow mask.

And finally, I populated the scene with the remaining airplane, women explorers, boats, and the subtle mist over the ocean. The fog is a lightly applied brush stroke.

Final Words

Thank you so much for making it this far. It’s a bit lengthy, but the reward is priceless. 

As long as you’re organized and work in stages, you can pretty much create anything you want with PixelSquid and Shutterstock. Most of the work was loading the models via the PixelSquid plugin and placing them around my composition. 

Create that cool activity for you and your kids (or students) to enjoy. And please share what you created with us! We’d love to see what you came up with. Make sure to tag or mention PixelSquid on the platform of your choice.

More awesome PixelSquid and 3D-inspired ideas for you:

• FREE Spinnable, Transparent 3D Florals: In the Garden with PixelSquid
• A Graphic Designer’s Journal: Touring Japan Through Design
• Finding Change Through Art: Imagining the Future of Africa
• Low-Poly Design: 3D Shorthand and Graphic Design Trend
• 3D Terms Every Cutting-Edge Creator Needs to Know

Cover images courtesy of Shutterstock and PixelSquid.

The post FREE Rainy Day Activity Sheets for Students – Download Now! appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Which cars do consumers click on most? What type of location should you set your automobile ad in? We consulted AI to find out. Buckle up!

What comes to mind when you think of a car commercial? Do you see a flashy sports car traveling at top speeds? Or a stylish, sophisticated sedan cruising through a city?

We probably all have some preconceived notions of what an effective ad in the automotive industry looks like. But, only data can tell us how these popular tropes perform. 

To find out what’s driving clicks in the automotive industry, Shutterstock.AI analyzed every piece of creative it has on cars. Through this analysis, the tool uncovered: 

• Which models of cars are getting clicks right now.
• How color palettes have changed for the industry.
• Which settings perform best for automotive ads.
• And, what types of detailed shots are most engaging. 

Start your engines, because we’re about to take a ride down the information highway.

Showcase Safe Cars

Shutterstock.AI’s consumer engagement data shows that audiences care about one thing above all—safety. Yet, research shows that approximately half of all U.S. car ads depict dangerous driving behavior. Perhaps many auto advertisers don’t quite understand what consumers want? Let’s fix that:

Cars with the highest click-through rates (CTRs) are sedans and SUVs, both of which often prioritize comfort and safety for riders.

In fact, sedans have the highest CTR of any type of vehicle in 2021. These cars have a 7% higher CTR than sports cars and a 29% higher CTR than race cars. SUVs come just behind sedans in terms of clickability. While sedans have a 5% higher CTR, SUVs are still an engaging vehicle for audiences. 

AI also noticed an uptick in engagement for vans. Their CTRs for imagery and videos have increased 159% from this time last year, and this style of vehicle has the CTR with the most rapid growth over the last twelve months.

Meanwhile, other types of vehicles, like trucks and motorcycles, have dipped in engagement.

What about color trends? Although 2020 saw a wide variety of colors in car ads—including greens, pinks, and aqua blues—2021 is seeing the highest CTRs on grays, charcoals, and black shades. This is perhaps keeping in trend with 2021’s engaging neutral palettes.

Set Ads Outside at Dawn, Dusk, or Night

Data says that today’s top-three settings for auto ads are:

• Outdoors
• In the countryside
• Within nature

And the automotive industry certainly loves its winding roads. But, what types of outdoor settings get the most clicks? 

AI found that outdoor settings with mountains are the most clickable. Forest settings, specifically with conifer trees, are also highly engaging. 

This is contrary to last year’s trends. In 2020, urban city settings were among the most engaging for the auto industry (their clickability has dropped 37% this year).

If you’d like to showcase cars in a more populated place, AI suggests shots taken at car dealerships or car washes. 

AI also discovered that in 2021, the time of day in a photo plays a key role in its clickability. Imagery and videos shot at night have the highest CTR, especially if they feature stars in the sky. Second to nighttime is content shot during dusk or dawn, also known as the golden hour. 

Prioritize the Most Engaging Details 

Inside and out, cars have some pretty clickable components. Creatives just need to know which ones to feature in their campaigns. Focusing on details inside of cars, rather than showing the entire exterior, could play to your advantage.

Following 2021’s theme of highly-engaging and safety-focused creative, today’s most clickable accessory is a car seat. While advertisers are showing car seats just 23% more often in ads this year than they did in 2020, consumers are clicking on car seats 82% more.

If your brand isn’t geared toward families, have no fear! Marketers can use other close-up shots of a car’s dashboard and center console to garner clicks. 

The second-most clickable feature of a car is the stereo. Coupled with that, imagery of holding hands and gearshifts have consistently high CTRs. 

Despite the center console taking center-stage, marketers should be wary of including some of its elements in their photography. For example, the CTR of mirrors has dropped 59% since this time in 2020.

If you still wish to include a rearview mirror in your ads, you can balance its lower CTR by including the most clickable casting choice for auto ads—a dog.

A few more on-trend articles for you:

• AI Report: How the Pandemic Changed Color Performance in Marketing
• Van Life in Australia with Photographer Charlie Blacker
• Emerging Color Trends in Children’s Design
• Top Food Video Trends in 2021
• The Top 5 Photography Trends Anticipated for 2021

Cover image via Kasefoto.

The post AI Report: Top-Performing Creative Trends in the Auto Industry appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

Look back on the history and development of color photography—and forward to colorizing old black-and-white photos with just a few clicks. 

These days, it’s easy to take color photography for granted. With one tap or click of a button, we’re able to capture wonderful, full-color photos with little regard for how color photography came to be. History serves as a reminder that color photography has come a long way since its inception.

Today, we can even undo the limitations of the past by colorizing old black-and-white photos with artificial intelligence.

Here, we’ll discuss some of the exciting ways you can breathe color into monochromatic images. But first—to appreciate how far we’ve come—let’s take a look back at where color photography began.

The Birth of Color Photography 

When photography was first invented in 1839, it was greeted with an amazing sense of wonder. For the first time in history, it was possible to capture a scene in such exquisite detail, except for one important feature: color.

Photography was a black-and-white medium and remained that way for nearly a century. The quest for color photography was a long and difficult one—expensive, cumbersome, and slow. 

Scientists worked tirelessly to make color photography a reality. But, by the 1880s, the public was growing increasingly impatient. To remedy this demand, many photographers employed artists who hand-tinted daguerreotypes and calotypes. The hand-coloring technique was further refined in Japan, becoming a defining characteristic of Japanese tourist photography before it was later adopted in the West.

While the technique achieved beautiful results, hand-coloring, even at its best, couldn’t replicate the colors of nature. What was required was a photographic process that could record colors in the same way that was already possible when capturing light and shade.

Enter Autochrome plates. Debuting in France in 1907, Autochrome Lumière was the first fully-practical and commercially successful color screen process—invented by two French brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumière. Their process for creating Autochromes involved glass plates, a backlight, soot, and potato starch (yes, potato starch), which completely revolutionized photography.

News of their invention quickly spread. And, by 1913, the Lumière factory was producing 6,000 Autochrome plates daily. For about thirty years, Autochromes were the most widely used process for capturing color in the world.

Still, despite its success, Autochromes had limitations. The result was a positive color transparency that could only be viewed against a backlight or as a projected image. Color photography was technically possible, but the advancement of color photography still had a long way to go. 

By 1935, a new modern era of color photography was ushered into existence thanks to Kodachrome film. It was the brainchild of Leopold Godowsky Jr. and Leopold Mannes, two musicians-turned-scientists (naturally) who worked at Kodak Research Laboratories in Rochester, New York. Together, they invented a color-positive film produced with a subtractive color photography process.

While other color films have dye directly printed onto the film stock, Kodachrome film was unique in that the dye was added during the development process. The absence of dye couplers in the emulsion meant that the film captured even the finest of details. 

It wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s when color photography among amateurs really took off. Until this point, color photography was reserved for the upper and middle class, whereas black-and-white photography was the norm.

This all changed when companies like Kodak and Canon made color photography more widely accessible to the masses in terms of price and skillset. Color film grew into the predominant photography medium—and the rest is history.

How to Colorize Black-and-White Photos 

Life doesn’t happen in black-and-white. People seek realism in their photos, and colorizing old monochromatic images brings them to life in ways we didn’t know were possible. As technology advances, there are more ways to colorize black-and-white photography, and it’s becoming easier and more impressive by the day.

Discover some of the exciting possibilities below. 

Adobe Sensei AI Technology

Earlier this year, Adobe gave Photoshop the ability to colorize photos instantly with Adobe Sensei AI technology.

Here’s a quick video to demonstrate how you can use AI to transform your black-and-white photos into color effortlessly. However, for a simple breakdown, follow these steps:

After uploading your photo to Adobe Photoshop, go to Filter > Neural Filters to open up the new Neural Filters panel.

In the Beta Filters section (on the right-hand side), you’ll see the Colorize icon. Click the toggle to turn it on and watch the magic unfold. Photoshop will use its image recognition technology to colorize your photos in the way it sees fit. 

Colorize – Color to Old Photos 

Just when you thought colorizing photos couldn’t get any easier, now you can upload your images using an AI-powered app on your phone. Colorize – Color to Old Photos helps you transform your black-and-white images into color automatically. 

Simply scan your black-and-white photo or upload one from your camera roll. With just a single tap, your photo is instantly colorized. Once completed, save your colorized photo to your camera roll. 

Adobe Photoshop

While A.I. is the future, it’s still greatly beneficial to know how to colorize black-and-white images the old-fashioned way. Sure, it’s not automatic, but colorizing your photos manually means you have complete creative control of the editing process, down to the smallest details. You can even pick and choose which colors you’d like to include and which colors to leave out. 

1. Before touching your source image, create a new layer, so you always have the original. Use layer masks to add your color of choice to your photo. 
2. If you’re working with an old photo, chances are, you’ll need to clean the image. Remove any imperfections like dust and scratches by making slight adjustments to the Radius and Threshold levels until the flecks are gone. If that doesn’t remove all of them, create a layer mask to mask over any flaws.
3. Neutralize the color and adjust the contrast of your photo. If it’s sepia-toned, add a Black & White adjustment layer to neutralize the color and a Levels adjustment layer to fix the contrast. 
4. Adding color: There are several other ways you can add color to your black-and-white images in Photoshop. One such method involves adding Solid Color adjustment layers to every aspect of the photo you want to paint. Change the Blending Mode to Color so the detail of the original image shows through the paint. Then Invert the layer mask to black and use the brush to paint over the part of the image you want to colorize.

Final Thoughts

Thanks to the advancement of photography, capturing images in black-and-white is a creative choice, not a requirement. For photographers today, it’s a decision to shoot in color or black-and-white, and thanks to advancing photo editing software, we have the option to add or remove color in images, too.

We now have more freedom to capture (and edit) the world as we see it—or the way we want it to be seen.

A few more photography tips, tricks, and advice for you:

• How to Capture Unique and Compelling Abstract Photography
• Tips for Creating Mesmerizing Shadow Photography
• When Less Is More: A Guide to Minimalist Photography
• Using Architecture to Amplify your Portraiture Photography
• How to Capture the Essence of Street Food in Photography

Cover image via Elena Dijour.

The post How to Transform Black-and-White Photography into Color appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.

With back-to-school in the air and October 3rd (a.k.a. Mean Girls Day) just around the corner, enjoy a visual tribute to this early-aughts classic.

There aren’t many movies so iconic that they have their very own day of observance. However, every year, social media hails October 3rd as “Mean Girls Day,” commemorating one of many classic lines from the 2004 high school comedy. The movie and its characters, from Lindsay Lohan’s fish-out-of-water Cady to Rachel McAdams’s icy queen-bee Regina George, have made an indelible mark on pop culture.

Loosely based on Rosalind Wiseman’s 2002 non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes, about the fraught dynamics of female teenage social cliques, Tina Fey’s script is peppered with sharp dialogue and fresh spins on familiar high school tropes.

One of the most fetching aspects of Mean Girls is its instantly recognizable visual palette, embodied by the pink-and-lilac pastels of its poster. “Colors did play a huge part in it,” costume designer Mary Jane Fort told Nylon, explaining how the movie’s visuals represent the glossy world of the Plastics, which Cady is drawn into against her better judgment.

“We wanted it to be the candy that you want. You know that candy store, Dylan’s Candy Bar? When you see this group, you want to feel like you walked into something delicious and wonderful, even though it’s kind of bad for you.”

To help you delve headfirst into that unforgettable aesthetic, here’s a take on what Cady’s Shutterstock search history might look like.

African Wildlife

Cady spent the last twelve years being home schooled because her zoologist parents were on an extended research trip in Africa. This makes her first day of high school especially nerve-wracking and bewildering.

As she gradually adapts to this cutthroat new world, Cady sometimes refers back to the savanna, making sense of cliques and catfights by likening them to the evolutionary processes of wild animals.

According to Lohan, Africa continued to play a major role in Cady’s life as she grew up. Asked by Entertainment Weekly where Cady would be today, Lohan replied: “Cady’s with Oprah in Africa working at children’s schools with a family, teaching girls to be nice to each other.”

Plastic

The Plastics are high school royalty, a trio of polished, preening popular girls with meticulously coordinated outfits. There’s Karen, whose breasts can predict the weather. There’s Gretchen, whose dad invented toaster strudel. And then there’s the equally feared and beloved leader, Regina George. Though she’s supposedly working undercover for Janis and Damian, Cady can’t help being seduced by the Plastics.

“Real schools are not quite as glossy, and we wanted a little more gloss, just given the subject matter of the group,” Fort told Nylon about designing the Plastics’ look. “They’re the fashion dictators of the school, and we wanted them to be more like the brightest, shiniest ball on the Christmas tree.”

For purposes of Cady’s imagined research, the Plastics would be represented a bit more . . . artistically.

Spooky Halloween

Thanks to her home-schooling, Cady missed a few memos. For example, she has no idea that when her crush Aaron invites her to his Halloween party—attended by a bunch of popular kids—the unspoken dress code dictates that she dress sexy, not scary.

As a result, she goes all in on a spooky costume, dressing up as a blood-spattered zombie bride with a set of truly gnarly fake teeth.

“That particular dress actually came from a thrift store because that’s where Cady would get a Halloween costume,” Fort recalled in an interview with Vanity Fair. “She added the blood herself and did her teeth herself, she put her own veil on. I wanted it to look as different from the others as it possibly could look.”

Math

Even though she spends most of the movie playing dumb in order to win over Aaron, Cady’s Shutterstock search would definitely reflect her intellect. Specifically it would include her love of math, which she’s drawn to because “it’s the same in every country.”

Pink

The Plastics have a lot of rules. You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week, no jeans except on Fridays, and the most important rule of all: “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.”

During the filming of the movie, Lindsay Lohan took the pink assignment particularly serious. “I remember 17-year-old Lindsay was on a mission to find pink Uggs. That was, like, what she was working on,” writer Tina Fey told Entertainment Weekly.

In the same oral history, Lohan confirmed that she’d specifically been trying to find the Uggs for the scene where Cady falls into the trash can. “I mean, I was rhinestoning my phone at the time with Swarovski crystals,” Lohan said with a laugh. “So, it was somewhat Method.”

Spring Fling Queen 

It almost feels like an afterthought when Cady is crowned Spring Fling Queen. Moments earlier, she steered the Mathletes to victory in the state championship, earning the one prize that truly mattered.

Still, she gets up on stage and makes a rousing (though un-required) speech, unifying her classmates by telling them they all look like royalty, and then snapping her plastic crown into shareable pieces. A true queen.

True Best Friends

Despite temptation by the Plastics and their backstabbing ways, deep down, Cady values real friendship. After so many years of home schooling, she’s desperate to fit in. That urge to belong leads her to make some questionable decisions (let’s face it, we’ve all been there).

By the end of the movie, Cady realizes that what she actually yearns for is real friendship, and reconciles with sassy outcasts Janis and Damian. She’s still friendly with Karen and Gretchen, and no longer has any desire to get involved in drama.

In her own words, she’s gone from “home-schooled jungle freak, to shiny Plastic, to most hated person in the world, to actual human being.”

For more fun articles like this one, take a glance at these:

• Legally Blonde Turns 20: Imagining an Elle Woods Pinterest Board
• Weird to Couture: Images of Fashion-Forward Cats Ready for a Close-Up
• What You Really See from the Steps of the Met Gala
• 2020’s Wondrous and Weird Fashion Moments on the Catwalk
• The Flower Crown: Ancient Origins and Pop-Culture Resurgence

Cover image via Shutterstock’s Mean Girls Day Collection.

The post If Cady from Mean Girls Had a Shutterstock Search History appeared first on The Shutterstock Blog.