Claire Luxton: How to Use Colour Channels in Lightroom
Our Lightroom Coffee Break series kicked off with a bang last week – and over the next few months we’ll have some of the hottest photographers and Instagrammers across travel, landscape, wildlife and lifestyle bringing you their quick hacks for editing your photos in Lightroom in 60 seconds or less.
One of these superstars is artist, painter and photographer Claire Luxton, who we recently caught up with to chat about her signature style, sources of inspiration and her exciting future plans. Check out the full transcript below, and as ever let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Adobe: You’re a talented artist, painter and photographer, tell us a little bit about what you do and how you got started?
Claire: I have always loved art and being creative is in my bones. I studied Fine Art at Goldsmiths and graduated in 2014. Since then I have had so many amazing opportunities come my way that I now work full time as a professional artist.
My practice primarily involves working within the realms of photography, painting and sculpture, creating striking, large-scale works and installations. My photography is generally centred on the exploration of ‘self’; the female form, myself, my body, always taking a role within my practice.
A: What do you love about photography?
C: Photography, much like art, has always been more than a choice for me. It’s there in the way I look at the world, in the way my mind thinks and in the way I see light and colour. Ultimately, it’s been there as long as I can remember as an integral part of my personality and practice.
For me photography allows my cinematic brain to come to life. I’m constantly driving to explore my own physicality through expression, transition, transformation and materiality.
A: Do you have a signature style?
C: I would say that the physicality of using myself within my work and the relationship I have with the self-portraiture is a key part of my signature style. I always aim for my work to be immersive. I want my body of work to transport the viewer to a different time, space, feeling, sensation or emotion, – whether that be through an expression, pose or colour. I love the thought that an evocative image could mean different things to different people.
A: Who do you look to for inspiration?
C: Growing up I was lucky enough to have some super inspirational art teachers but it was primarily the works of Turner and Antony Gormley that inspired me to be an artist. Now I find inspiration in many places; from historical myths and the Bronte Sisters, to Quentin Tarantino and Alexander McQueen.
A: Tell us about some of the craziest shoots you’ve done
C: Shooting self-portraiture can be challenging at the best of times, but I often love to make my life difficult by shooting in water or covered in paint. One of my craziest shoots would have to be when I decided to take images for my ‘Pools of Avalon’ series in the open sea on the Kent coast. I spent the morning dodging large groups of children on school trips while I tried to set up shots in rock pools and on shore with my tripod and remote in a nude leotard cover in inks and paint.
A: You’re renowned for your stunning self-portraits – do you have a favourite image?
C: I’m such a perfectionist and quite self-critical that I always want to push my images to be heightened. So I don’t know if I will ever truly have a favourite. But for me, three self-portraits that are close to my heart are ‘Islands and Coastlines’, ‘Essential’ and ‘Milk and Honey.’
C: My top three Lightroom features would be:
– Colour Channels
– Clarity
– White Balance
A: What’s next – have you got any exciting projects coming up?
C: I’m currently working on lots of fun, different client-based projects that involve a mix of painting and photography. However, my main focus at the moment is my new Solo Exhibition BOTANICA, which should be opening in London around October/November with DegreeArt Gallery. I can’t wait for the show to come together and for everyone to be immersed in my new collection of work.
Watch Claire as she explains how to use Colour Channels in Lightroom in just 60 seconds:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/SatXT5kmuJE
A huge thank you to Claire for sharing her knowledge with us. You can find out more about her on her gallery website_, or check out her _Instagram.
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