One on one with Ashraful Arefin

Who is Ashraful Arefin?

My name is Ashraful Arefin, I'm a 33 years old Photographer. I was born and grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh and currently based in the same city. Before starting photography I was a student of Fine Arts and I completed my bachelors in Graphic Design. 

"I was never happy as a graphic designer"

How come photography?

 I bought my first camera back in 2010 when I was studying Fine Arts. I bought it to take some high-quality photos of my artworks. But eventually, I fell in love with the art of photography. I was never happy as a graphic designer, there was so much pressure, and pursuing perfection took away the fun of creating.
​So I decided to take a break from my usual works and started doing a 365 photography project and that changed everything. Photography totally opened my eyes and heart. I completely fell in love with it and decided to follow this path. â€‹

​"I have always been fascinated by fairytales and magical stories..."

"On the streets, I don't have much control over my subject or surroundings"

 your favorite subject to shoot and why?

I started my photography journey shooting still life images and it's still my most favorite genre to work with. I love the fact that I can create a certain mood or story without even using people. I also love to shoot the streets and people.
On the streets, I don't have much control over my subject or surroundings in comparison to still life photography.  I really love that challenge. Also, there are so many opportunities to create storytelling images in the streets. â€‹

How do you find inspiration for your fineart photos ?

​I have always been fascinated by fairytales and magical stories so they are biggest inspiration. Also books like Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton movies has inspired me.

​What editing software(s) do you use the most?

For my images, I only use Adobe Photoshop. â€‹

"Don't be afraid of mistakes"

camera gear?

Right now my
Nikon D850 with the NIKKOR 105mm F/1.4E ED
and
NIKKOR 85mm F/1.8 G lenses. â€‹

Here is a little sneak peak on how these images are made

Average time from shooting to posting a photograph?

​It could take 3-4 days from coming up with the concept to shooting and post processing. Sometimes even more depending on the amount of composite work needed. I usually go back and forth a lot to find the mistakes and rectify it, that's why it takes longer time. 

Go to stock websites for other fine art /composite photographers?

​Pexels and Unsplash are two free stock photo websites I can recommend. Though I mostly shoot my own stocks. It’s much easier to match the images shot from the same camera and settings. Also Flickr and DeviantArt are great sources for textures, editing resources and stock images.

tips for budding photographers

This is Art and everyone does it differently so there's no right or wrong way, there's only your way. So do it from your heart and the way you want it.

​Don't be afraid of mistakes, they will teach you better than any classes or tutorials. Learn the rules so you can break them and most importantly enjoy the process.

Check Ashraful out on Instagram now

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A post shared by ashraful arefin (@ashrafularefin) on Aug 26, 2019 at 7:49am PDT

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A post shared by ashraful arefin (@ashrafularefin) on Dec 16, 2018 at 6:50am PST

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