If you’re looking for a source of inspiration and education, look no further. Marlies Hartmann is a multi-award-winning, international, and celebrity wedding photographer who blends her love of photojournalism with a timeless, editorial style, and hopeless obsession with beautiful light. She is currently an Ambassador for SLR Lounge and MagMod and has had several speaking engagements with Canon. She mentions in her bio that she wants her images to “be felt, not just seen”, and this is a mantra that resonates throughout her vast portfolio of wedding imagery. Her style is effortless but executed with the utmost expertise and technique to create flawless level imagery. If you follow her on social media, chances are you may have seen her educational posts about how she edits. We’re going to find out a bit more about her creative process for editing photos and why she uses the Visual Flow Modern Pack as her import preset.
Before and After Images
VF Modern Pack - Soft Light Preset
The Interview with Marlies Hartmann
We interviewed her to find out how she uses the Visual Flow Preset System to enhance and enliven her wedding photos in Lightroom. Below you’ll see examples of her RAW straight out of camera images and how they look with the Visual Flow Modern Pack presets applied.
How would you describe your editing style in one word?
“Timeless.”
What tools within Lightroom help your refine your photos?
“The transform tool and the radial filter are definitely my two secret weapons. I think a lot of photographers simply straighten the horizon when their images could truly benefit from the transform tool. I usually try “auto” and go from there, but it ends up applied to about 80-90% of my delivered images! The radial filter lets me create either a subtle vignette or helps my subject pop by making them the brightest element in the photo. That allows your eye to immediately go where I want the viewer to look first.”
Which is your favorite Visual Flow preset and why?
“My favorite Visual Flow preset is Soft Light from the Modern Pack. I’ve found a way to subtly customize it so that it can be applied to the majority of my images on the wedding day in just one click. My favorite thing about it is the warm, natural, skin tones while also maintaining true red tones in my images. I also love that it keeps green tones from looking too cool-toned.”
How are you constantly evolving and pushing forward your style and quality?
“I draw a lot of my creativity from other artistic mediums. The teachers at my theatre studio at New York University (my background is in theatre arts), taught us that to become better artists, you have to draw from other art forms… read poetry, watch a classic film, go visit a museum, listen to an opera, etc. I’m a bit of an old soul (and total nerd) when it comes to things like that. I’ve watched all of Charlie Chaplin’s films, I studied renaissance art in Italy for 6 months, and I go to the theatre with my daughter every chance I get. I also read every single day. When I travel, I don’t take photographs, but observe or enjoy nature as much as possible. I then take those feelings or experiences or inspiration and try to pour it back into my work.”
Where did you learn how to edit?
“I learned how to edit mostly through trial and error. I started with the basics and then would troubleshoot as needed, watching video tutorials online. I also have found that it helps to watch someone else edit, as it teaches you shortcuts or tools you wouldn’t normally think to use but can then apply back into your own work.”
You can see more of Marlies’ work on her Website and Instagram. To learn more about our Visual Flow Preset System and how are lighting condition-based presets work check out our site to see more before/afters. Catch Marlies and our other Visual Flow Ambassadors in our Facebook Community and join to get your images featured!
