Edition No.12 Diorama Photography: Photographer & Digital Artist Felix Hernandez
Felix Hernandez is a Mexican commercial photographer, who became well-known on the Internet through his work of bringing miniatures into life against different backgrounds. His process starts with taking pictures of miniatures and different props at his studio by setting up the scene and applying a photographed background onto the created image. Hernandez's elaborate effort and creativity really shows in his work at the studio as he uses dry ice, powder and many other materials to bring life to the images and completes them with real backgrounds in post-production.
Among his commercial photography projects, Felix Hernandez's work on the Audi commercial gained a lot of attention from many. Previously, commercial pictures of cars generally entailed images of amazing and expensive models in front of a beautiful scenery or capturing a driving car from another car driving along it. Most of these photo shoots required building massive film sites and they cost a lot. Hernandez, on the other hand, used a 32-dollar miniature car and built an accordingly small-sized set to create the image. He created a production of outstanding quality, with no difference in quality from the end results of previous car commercials.
One can only be in awe at Hernandez's ideas and creativity when you look at the process of his creation. He plans the angle of the final production beforehand and creates the space that will be captured in the camera angle. Hernandez also places the angle and setting for the miniature to be in focus in the most effective way, thereby creating a more 'realistic' result (or even an image of a scale quite difficult to create).
The reason why Felix Hernandez's work stand out is because of his almost-perfect planning and a deep understanding of the features and limitations of the materials he uses in creating the best output in his given environment, rather than just the simple fact that he uses miniatures and small sets in a studio instead of the 'real' thing.
It is in the nature of commercial photography that artists must create the best result with the given conditions, as one cannot always enjoy abundant resources or time. Felix Hernandez is an inspiring photographer to the Digital Design Team in its work in photography.