Chasing the Limitless

Photographer Flora Borsi uses Photoshop on the iPad to take audiences into a surrealist dream.

There was a time when Flora Borsi thought she would become a web designer. It seemed like a smart career path in a creative field — something she would be able to enjoy. But for Flora, it had too many limitations. Instead, she preferred the limitless possibilities of photography. Here’s what that looks limitlessness looks like.

When Flora was 11 years old, her sister gave her Adobe Photoshop. She mastered its many features by editing photos from the internet. A few years later, at age 15, she decided to try her own hand at photography.

“I wanted to express my thoughts and feelings in the field of creation, to form an idea and portray it myself,” Flora says. “I didn’t feel like I had any limits.”

Now, with Photoshop on the iPad, Flora is able to experience a new type of freedom as she edits her photos on the go.

Pushing the boundaries of reality

Flora’s distinctive photography and editing style embrace the spirit of limitless expression and push the boundaries of the ordinary.

“I wanted to feature surrealist views and dreamlike pictures because realistic photography wasn’t enough for me,” Flora says. “I wanted to explore my thoughts and feelings, and I do that through photo compositing.”

When she is searching for inspiration, Flora asks herself, “What doesn’t exist in the world around me?” She says that if audiences look at a piece and think it looks like something from another universe, then she has realized her vision.

Many of the pieces in Flora’s portfolio are self-portraits — a choice that carries over from her teenage years. At age 16, she was diagnosed with a noncancerous tumor. This triggered deep moments of introspection and fear.

“Something very difficult happened to me, and I didn’t feel like my art could be happy and light. I was discovering the limitations of my body and of being human, so self-portraiture was a way to almost make myself immortal,” Flora says.

The finished artwork acts as a window into Flora’s emotions. Her goal is to help others feel what she felt — then and now — and, in turn, inspire them to express their own feelings.

Finding freedom in self-portraits

By focusing heavily on self-portraits instead of solely working with models, Flora is also cutting back on logistical limitations. “If I have an idea that hits me in the night, I just hop up and shoot photos of myself. I have a studio in my apartment, and I can make ideas a reality almost instantly,” Flora says.

Now, Flora can edit her photos with that same degree of ease, even if she is headed out the door. As an avid traveler, Flora is usually moving from one place to the next. With Photoshop on iPad, Flora is no longer limited to a desktop for editing, and the on-the-go solution brings with it a host of features that enhance her creative experience.

“It’s really exciting to be able to finally physically touch my pictures as I edit,” Flora says. She also appreciates the ability to add multiple layers and masks from her iPad.

When Adobe announced Photoshop on the iPad, Flora was afraid that the mobile editing process wouldn’t allow her to work with the same level of detail. But she soon discovered the opposite.

“Even working with many pixels in a large image, I can easily zoom in and zoom out and erase what I don’t want on the picture. Some of these features, I think, are even easier on the iPad than on the computer,” Flora says.

Sharing a limitless vision

With the ability to achieve her distinctive surrealist style whenever and wherever she finds inspiration, Flora looks forward to traveling and working with different artistic communities.

“I want to be able to share tips and inspiration with young artists and show that they can push themselves so much farther than they think. Art really is limitless,” Flora says.

Bring your own ideas to life with Photoshop on iPad, and read more about how it enhances the Adobe Creative Cloud offering.