So, I decided to dive into the whole ‘Madison Kimball’ look. Saw some pictures floating around, maybe it was on Pinterest or one of those aesthetic blogs, and something about the style just grabbed me. It had this kind of soft, almost hazy feel, but still sharp in places. Looked effortless, you know? Figured I’d give it a shot myself.
Getting Started
First thing, I just gathered a bunch of images attributed to this style. Made a little folder on my computer. Stared at them for a while. Tried to break it down. What was the common thread?
- Color: Definitely noticed the colors were kinda muted. Not super bright, often leaning towards warmer tones, like faded sunlight. Greens and blues seemed toned down.
- Light: Lots of natural light, often backlit situations. Created that halo effect sometimes. Seemed like late afternoon light was a big part of it.
- Focus: This was interesting. Parts of the image would be really crisp, but other areas, especially backgrounds, had this soft, dreamy blur. Not just regular shallow depth of field, something more… painterly?
- Subject: Mostly everyday scenes, people in candid moments, simple objects. Nothing too staged or dramatic.
The Actual Trying Part
Alright, loaded up my camera. Just my regular old DSLR, nothing fancy. Went out during that ‘golden hour’ everyone talks about. Tried shooting some stuff around my backyard – plants, the fence, my cat.
My first attempts? Honestly, pretty rubbish. The light was okay, but the photos just looked… normal. Didn’t have that special ‘sauce’. They were just regular photos taken in the evening.
So, I thought maybe it was the editing. Took the photos back to my computer. Started messing around in Lightroom, then tried GIMP because why not. Pulled down the saturation like I thought. Warmed up the white balance. Added a bit of grain because some of her photos seemed to have that texture.
Still wasn’t quite right. It looked like I was just slapping filters on. The colors felt forced, not natural like in the inspiration photos. And that soft focus thing? Couldn’t replicate it just by adjusting clarity or sharpness. It was frustrating. Spent a good few evenings just tweaking sliders, getting nowhere fast.
Having Another Go
Okay, rethink time. Maybe it wasn’t just the editing. Maybe it was the lens? I usually use a standard zoom. Dug out an old prime lens I had, a 50mm. It’s known for having a different kind of blur, maybe that was closer?
Went out again. This time, I really paid attention to what was in focus and how the background melted away. Shot wide open (lowest f-number). Also tried deliberately shooting through things – like leaves or a sheer curtain – to get some foreground blur and haze. That started feeling a bit closer.
Back to editing. This time, instead of just yanking saturation down, I played with the individual color channels. Nudged the greens towards yellow, the blues towards cyan maybe. Small adjustments. Tried adding a subtle vignette. Focused more on gentle contrast adjustments rather than harsh ones.
Where I’m At Now
It’s getting better. Still not a perfect copy, but my photos started having some of that vibe. The combination of the prime lens, shooting wide open, paying attention to the light, and being more subtle with the editing seems to be the key.
What I learned:
- It’s not just one thing, it’s a combination of how you shoot and how you edit.
- That ‘effortless’ look actually takes quite a bit of thought and effort.
- Sometimes specific gear (like a certain type of lens) does help achieve a particular look, even if people say gear doesn’t matter. It kinda does for specific styles.
- Subtlety in editing goes a long way. Less is often more.
So yeah, that was my little adventure trying to figure out the Madison Kimball style. Still practicing, still tweaking. It’s a process. But it was fun to try and decode something I liked and see if I could do it too. Made me look at light and color a bit differently.
