A master in creative photography, Piyarad Taduk (@nho.fotophy) has captured truly emotional moments that convey a delicate, understated beauty. From tourist destinations to romantic couples, he was able to dazzle viewers with a unique touch of visual artistry achieved through a myriad of shooting techniques.

His Creative Portrait project aims to showcase just that by creating a pastel colour effect to enhance an otherwise simple image of a girl in a field. "My goal is to give viewers a sense of enjoyment and calm from my works. This way, they can better relate to the subjects and get a sense of how special they really are," he said. We spoke with Piyarad to find out how he was able to bring out the essence of artistic photography in his works.

Location, location, location

For shooting locations, Piyarad wanted someplace which could be associated with the feeling of being free and lively. "I chose a place near the Mae Kuang river, which is located just 20 minutes away from the city of Chiang Mai. It is perfect for my project's minimalist and soft storytelling approach as it only has tall, green grass and clear, open sky," he said.

To complement the dream-like atmosphere, Piyarad used flowers and a white cloth as his props and dressed the model in bright 70s-style clothing. "Both the props and clothing are picked out to attract the viewers' attention. At the same time, it provides a pleasant atmosphere that can make viewers feel like they want to be a part of that world," he said.

With the Alpha 7 IV as his go-to camera, Piyarad was able to conjure up vibrant colours and tones that were perfect for accentuating the artistic design. "For this project, I chose to pair the camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens and had the F-stop set to F1.2 for smooth bokeh. With SH as my chosen Creative Look setting, I was able to create a low contrast that makes the colours clearer and more appealing to the viewers' eyes," he said.

An airy, delicate quality through natural light

One of the main aspects which Piyarad took advantage of to breathe life into his portraits was the use of natural light. "The late afternoon period was the best time for shooting as the warm lights create a glowing effect for the model's softer skin tones. In terms of poses, I also had her aligned her face and body straight towards where the sun was. With the camera's SH mode, I was able to bring certain details like shadows and highlights into focus, which gives the storytelling a little more style," he said.

The flowers also helped Piyarad in manifesting the storytelling aspects of each image. "I purposely chose flowers of various colours to create unique visual effects that make each image look and feel distinct from one another. In particular, red flowers help create contrast which brings out the model's natural beauty, while purple flowers can complement softer moods," he said.

With artistic photography, Piyarad was able to capture the world from a creative perspective. "Photography to me is an art form in which the 'artist' looks to showcase certain subjects, events or lives through their eyes. My advice for photographers is to think about what you want to present in your image. That way, you will be able to figure out the best props, costumes, shooting angles and tones for the perfect storytelling. Another important advice is to be patient for those perfect moments. Even if you can't get the elements to work for you, it might present you with new opportunities to capture subjects in a different light that are sure to attract viewers' interests," he said.