Hi, this is I'mani and welcome to another episode of The Candid Frame.

As part of my research for my latest book, Adobe Photoshop Masterclass, I must have scoured

hundreds of not thousands of different photographers' websites and a search for the photographers

that I was going to showcase in this book.

And it was a bigger challenge than I had expected.

Because even though I saw a lot of great

photographs that had some amazing technical ability, a lot of the images that I would see

on these sides kind of left me hollow.

And I found that the images that resonated with me most were images that had a sense

of narrative or story or that posed a question in terms of what's going

on, who is this person, what is the scene?

The work of today's guest, Brooke Shaden, exemplifies that.

She's very similar to a photographer I interviewed a few years back, Natalie Dibbisch.

They both came up as self-taught photographers who use themselves

as their own models to create these oftentimes fantastical images that create these sort of moody,

sometimes dark, but beautiful imagery. And within a very short time, both Brooke and Natalie have created quite the market for

their work. They're also educators and they teach workshops all over the world. But today's guest,

Brooke Shaden, I think, is a real wonderful example of a dedication to one's own personal vision

and seeing it through, not just from the concept to that final print,

but seeing it through all the way to creating an audience and a market for her work

and just being absolutely committed to making it happen.

And I hope that she is a great source of inspiration for you.

...