Bella Kotak uses Adobe Photoshop to create unique floral portrait fantasies
Photography is more than a creative outlet for Bella Kotak. It is a gateway to escape. The floral portraits she edits in Adobe Photoshop are as remarkable for their beauty and color palettes as they are for the magical worlds she builds around her subjects.
Kotak has been immersed in beauty and whimsical scenes since childhood. Growing up in Kenya, she lived in a home surrounded by flowers, and she vividly recalls joining her father in the fields to pick frangipane flowers in the morning and roses in the evening. Kotak retained her love of flowers when she moved to the UK at the age of 16 and they remain a defining theme in her work as an internationally acclaimed artist.
Kotak is a respected figure in the fine art and fashion photography community whose portraits have been exhibited from New York to Paris to Seoul. She has also become a mentor to other photographers, especially those who want to harness the power of Photoshop to create remarkable digital art of their own.
Filling the world with color
Kotak’s creative journey did not start with photography. It began when she attended architecture school in the UK and first began using Photoshop to create design concepts for her coursework. Eager to learn more, Kotak began taking photos on her own time and experimenting with the software to hone her digital editing skills.
Everything changed after Kotak joined a community of photographers and became inspired by how they modified photos to tell their stories. The creative freedom of Photoshop called to her and within a few years digital photography and editing had become her full-time passion.
“Once I realized I could create my own worlds with Photoshop, there was no looking back. My goal is to create pockets of escapism for my clients – and anybody else who wants to be the hero of their story.”
— Bella Kotak, photographer
Kotak’s talent lies in blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. With a keen eye for design, she crafts fairy-tale scenes. These combine vivid colors and natural beauty to capture the essence of her subjects, who range from Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers and fashion models to everyday people who ask her to shoot their portrait.
In 2021, Kotak was featured as a guest on the BBC series “Extraordinary Portraits” and created an image of Charlotte Banfield, a champion adaptive surfer with autism and cerebral palsy. In addition to growing her audience, the feature gave Kotak the opportunity to show the world that everybody has a story to tell and is worthy of celebrating.
“Most people walk around believing they’re not special, but artists see the world with a curious eye that brings out the magic in everyone,” she says. “Few things feel better than showing someone just how unique they are.”
Ethereal scene for the Birmingham Ballet.
Portrait of Charlotte Banfield. Source: Bella Kotak.
Creating magic both on and off set
Taking photos is just one part of Kotak’s artistic process; she also designs the set pieces, jewelry, and accessories that lend an air of elegance and power to her models. After each shoot, Kotak loads the raw images from her camera into Photoshop for editing. Kotak estimates that about half of her creative time is spent shooting the raw images and the other half editing them.
More recently, Kotak has embraced the latest generative AI features in Photoshop, powered by Adobe Firefly, our family of generative AI models and services. For instance, she uses Generative Fill to easily remove unwanted objects and fill gaps in her raw photos in a way that feels natural and intentional, without spending hours on the job.
“Photoshop is like my painter’s box. It allows me to play with colors, enhance my images, and create the vibe I’m looking for. None of my images would exist without it.”
— Bella Kotak, photographer
Inspiring artists to follow their curiosity
As a successful photographer, Kotak is paying it forward by helping aspiring photographers pursue their dreams. Most notably, she and two fellow artists now host yearly creative bootcamps in Namibia, inviting young photographers to develop their skills while shooting some of the world’s most striking scenery, including the famous Namibian sunsets.
When she’s not out on shoots or editing photos at home, Kotak shares her knowledge of Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom at conferences. She also publishes tutorial content on her digital platforms, helping her followers develop their personal style and gain confidence in their art. To give her fellow photographers a head start, Kotak recently launched an online shop called onlythecurious where anyone can purchase her unique library of professional-grade color grades. With a single click, users can make complex adjustments to the color, tone, and mood of their work to maximize its visual impact.
“Curiosity is the driving force behind all great creative ventures. No matter what tools you use as an artist, a curious mindset will lead you somewhere interesting and that’s where the real magic happens.”
— Bella Kotak, photographer
Learn more about Bella Kotak and her striking photography on Instagram.
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