Growing up in Hong Kong and later living in Melbourne, Chicago, and San Francisco due to education and work, Elaine Li, a photographer working as an advertising art director, has gained a strong online following. With 240,000 followers on Instagram, she admits that she didn’t feel anything particularly unique about Hong Kong, her hometown, until she started living abroad and experienced the valuable blend of Eastern and Western cultures. She wants to preserve this uniqueness. Like many photography enthusiasts, Elaine is a “working girl” with a full-time job. She says that she gives off the impression of constantly traveling, but in reality, she just slowly releases the photos she takes during her trips.
When it comes to her passion for photography, it turns out that it was her father who ignited her enthusiasm for photography when he gave her her first digital camera at the age of 12. This led her to start taking photos casually and documenting her life. From the beginning, Elaine liked taking photos of neatly organized buildings with a touch of “obsessive-compulsive disorder,” and later on, she developed a unique perspective on rooftop photography. Currently, she focuses on urban landscapes and street photography during her travels, slowly cultivating her own style, and ultimately becoming a popular online photographer.
Further reading:
- Sotheby’s Hong Kong Auction Sets Record: Highest Sales in Handbags and Accessories Category
- Antiquorum Hong Kong Autumn Auction 2023: Rare Watch Event
- M+ Museum in West Kowloon unveils its 2024 program! Retrospective exhibition of architectural master I.M. Pei and screening of independent films
Living in different places has also influenced Elaine’s photography subjects. In Hong Kong, she often captures city landscapes, while in Sydney, she focuses more on natural scenery. Elaine not only uses her iPhone for photography but is also a loyal user of VSCO. “After having children, time is limited, so many of my photos are edited directly on my iPhone and then uploaded. It’s really convenient.”
When editing photos, she usually starts by adding filters. Speaking of filters, she has gone through many changes over the years. Six or seven years ago, she liked using dynamic HB1 and HB2 filters (Hypebeast). For a while, she used more analog filters like A6 and A4, which changed the tones relatively subtly. Currently, she mostly uses C8 filters (Chromatic). She jokingly says that as she gets older, she likes colorful things more and more.
When she uses filters, she relies on her intuition. “But when editing cityscape photos, there is more room to try different colors because viewers don’t have a strong preconceived notion of the actual colors of the buildings. However, with nature, everyone knows that the sky is blue and trees are green, so there won’t be too many changes in color when editing nature photos.” Overall, Elaine tries to keep the colors natural when using filters and avoids going overboard.
However, whether in the city or in nature, Elaine likes to use the rule of thirds grid to compose her photos. She usually places the subject of the photo within one of the grid sections or along the lines of a section to create a focal point. In particular, she believes that people are important elements in photos. “When taking or cropping photos, I always try to place them along the grid lines of the rule of thirds to make the photos more dynamic.” Elaine advises beginners, “Photography and art have no right or wrong, it’s all about feeling and experimenting. With the convenience of photo editing nowadays and the abundance of filters and tools on VSCO, it’s easy to try different editing techniques and find your own style.”
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