Inspiration came from sifting through
dozens of poorly shot concert footage on
old phones that I never actually looked at.
High contrast photos with bright lighting
open the door to the most interesting
compositions.
To achieve the initial image, a heavy grain
is added. The image is then made monochrome
and contrasted to the max to produce a
striking silhouette with a ton of textural
depth.
Grain is applied generously onto the text
layers as well, creating this fuzzy glow
when combined with blurs and a outer glow
effect. The product is not necessarily about
readability but a maximization of this
high contrast, almost gothic style.
This is a consistent and modular process
that enhances relatively mundane photos
into individualized works. Some modulations
include image overlays (e.g., spirals) and
content-aware text layers (achieved using
the difference blending mode).