I started this project with no clear idea in mind and followed through the entire process solely based on intuition.

Looking back at the result, I never thought it would turn out to be very subjective. I remember feeling frustrated during the first day of editing, trying to figure out a way to combine these elements into one harmonious collage then giving up.

Then I happened upon a beautiful photograph of a cafe on Pixabay, along with a photograph of a Russian model leaning against a barn wall. My first instinct told me that her pastel blue jacket and pink tank top somehow complemented the colors of the cafe albeit many shades lighter. I decided to convert the picture of her into a png format, since I didn’t want the background of the barn wall in the way, and placed her on top of the cafe.

Gradually, I started adding other elements taken from Pexels and Pixabay, layering the background images out, erasing them and eventually took a liking to the way they resembled shredded pieces of paper lying arbitrarily around. I even tampered with the saturation, brightness and contrast levels, shadows and highlights… anything to make the image “pop” out nicely.

Suffice it to say, I consider myself a novice when it comes to Photoshop but this opportunity has taught me a great deal of lessons and I plan to apply them in the future.