What drew you to architecture photography?
My mum was an engineer and she had a drawing board at home. I used to be fascinated with things like blueprints and symmetry. I always had this thing about fairness and balance, and I think that kind of manifested itself in me doing law. London has this real juxtaposition of old architecture and new architecture. There were just elements that I could balance a picture on, and I could line things up with these internal principles. It just made sense to me.
 

How did you carve out your style and how would you describe it?
I think there's an element of me that’s constantly searching for balance. As a Black male in this profession, there were often scenarios where I found myself as the only Black person in the room. I often found scenarios whereby my photography, for instance, was considered too urban to be commercial, but then too commercial to be urban. I was just trying to find a kind of weird niche where my work was respected by both lanes. I kind of carved out this lane for myself, where it was respected by people who did more commercial stuff, like what clients would love. But then the urban community and the grittier side of photography, they also respected that work. Iʼve often found that to be reflective of the kind of person I am. Iʼve just constantly tried to find that balance, and my photography is a reflection of that. Iʼd call my style “simply complex.” I want it to be straightforward and accessible but at the same time, I want to make you think.

What’s in your camera bag?
Sony was the first and only camera Iʼve really ever used with the exception of my drone or action cameras, which might be a 360 camera or a GoPro. For the most part, itʼs been the Sony a7 series, currently the R IV, which is their flagship high-resolution camera. I love wide-angle lenses and my favorite up until just recently was a 35mm, which I loved for environmental portraits and for video as well. But the other lens Iʼm a big fan of is a 14mm f/1.8. Itʼs just recently been replaced by my 12–24mm f/2.8, which is a really wide and fast lens. If I was stuck on a desert island, Iʼd have those two lenses with me.

What would you recommend as a starter kit?
The best camera is the one that you have on you. Itʼs not about the gear — it’s about the person behind the camera. The best photos in history were most likely taken on a camera worse than the one you have in your phone. Focus on what’s going on in front of the camera and also the frame of mind of the person behind the camera. Spend as much time, money, and effort on learning and travel as you do equipment and software. You were born with the most important tool that you’ll ever need to create great work.

Where do you find inspiration?
Iʼm constantly being inspired. I donʼt know if Iʼm capable of sensory overload. Iʼm inspired by sports, dance, anime, fashion, music, and my family and friends. I do feel that we should be mindful of the stuff we consume because it will affect the work you produce. I try to surround myself with people who inspire me to do better.

Both images created with Tobi’s presets.

How much of your signature style is done in Lightroom?

Lightroom plays into my workflow in that Iʼm able to focus on bringing back the feel, the vibe that I had when I was there, and just enhancing it a little bit. I see Lightroom as being the cooking process, and the photography part is me picking up the raw ingredients. Tools like Grain, Contrast, Clarity, Texture — I consider those the salt and seasoning. Tools like Saturation and Vibrance are like the sugar. You’re just kind of adding a little sprinkling here and there to enhance the flavor. And Lightroom allows you to do that with great control.

Which Lightroom tools do you use the most?
My favorite tools are the Luminosity Masks. I was looking for a way to dodge and burn in Lightroom and they basically allow you to use the Linear Gradients to mask a particular area, but then within that area you’ve masked, you can be more selective by clicking on Luminosity and then picking the area that you want to do, based on how dark or light it is. It gives a control over the tolerance of how much the mask blends into other areas. This is to make it smoother or more sharply defined. Using that tool has allowed me to have very precise selections, and Iʼm a big fan of it.

Any advice for working with presets?
Presets are a tool which can help to link a series of photos together to achieve a certain look and feel. Use presets as a starting point — they are not a fix-all solution to photos which aren’t great. Once you apply them, tweak them to fit each photo and remember that they should probably not be used on every single photo that you take.

What are some common mistakes beginners make?
Chasing the praise of others and following trends is a big one. Doing it for the right reasons will keep you enjoying photography and creating longer than people who see it as a trend or a fad.

How do you know when you're done editing a photo?
Iʼm not big on star signs, but Iʼve been told that Virgos are perfectionists. Iʼve definitely been a culprit of throwing away the good in search of the perfect. A friend of mine was looking at some photos Iʼd shot and he was like, why haven’t you posted this one? It ended up performing better than some of the other stuff Iʼd been posting. It got me thinking that I was imposing certain standards that other people didnʼt necessarily have. I try not to get too hung up on making it perfect because you can continuously edit and edit. There are certain things you just have to accept.

How are you adapting to restrictions due to COVID-19?
At the beginning of lockdown, a friend of mine asked me, is there anything that you would regret not having used this time for? I decided to really focus on a number of different elements of learning — like video skills, storytelling, and certain photographic techniques such as panning. I used the opportunities handed to me to create. I was well aware of my privilege and you know, I still have a job and freelance clients coming in, and not everyone has that. I try to focus on the positive and just roll with the punches and adapt.

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