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How Japanese Art Influences My Photography Style

I'm lucky enough to travel to Japan regularly, and for many years I have been collecting various books on Japanese art. 

I am especially drawn to Hanga (woodblock prints) from the Edo Period (1603 and 1868). This style of art is known as Ukiyo-e.

In particular I like Ando Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) and Hasui Kawase (1883 - 1957) and their use of colour palettes and compositions, and I've found incorporating these into my photographs captured in Japan quite satisfying. 

If you're interested in trying this for yourself with artworks you like, here's a few things to help you on your way.

桜 (Sakura) Lake Kawaguchi

By Hirose Kawase

As a starting point, I research and collect as many images I like in Pinterest and via books from the library.

波紋 (Ripple) Lake Kawaguchi

Naruto Whirlpool, Awa Province, from the series Views of Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd ProvincesUtagawa Hiroshige Japanese

1. Collect as many images of the artists or artists you like in Pinterest and books (library) 

鯉 (Koi) Kenrokuen, Kanazawa

Suido Bridge and Suruga Hill By Ando Hiroshige

2. Take a screenshot of the paintings you like and find out the 5 main colours used in their palette (i.e app color harmony)

紅葉 (Autumn Leaves) Kenrokuen, Kanazawa

By Kawase Hasui

3. Apply similar colors (not exact) in Lightroom through colour grading (Midtones, Highlights and Shadows) and other lightroom tools to get close to the gamut of colors used.

From there, it's then a matter of either shooting a similar composition to your subject, or capturing something else entirely, and then matching the colours from the painting to your photo.

You do this through applying similar colours in Lightroom in the Colour Grading section of the Develop module (by adjusting the Midtones, Highlights and Shadows) to get close to the gamut of colours used.