Nicola Osula
Creative photographer
Starting her photographic journey on an iPhone, Nicola now uses a camera to explore colour, texture and elements of randomness. See
icole Osula is a self-taught British Nigerian-Sierra Leonean photographer and creative director. Her journey into photography began in 2015, when she took to capturing images of friends on her iPhone. During the summer of 2016, she was given a camera for her 21st birthday. She has since developed additional interests in creative direction and styling.
Nicole’s imagery explores colour, texture and elements of randomness; themes that are woven into her work via the hair, makeup and styling she incorporates. The motivation behind her portraits stems from wanting to highlight people who look like her – her subjects of black skin are a statement that they too are art, with an array of features and complexions worthy of being captured. Nicole’s imagery has featured in CRWN,PortraitofHumanity Vol2andMarieClaireHungary, and has additionally been displayed in France, Malaysia, the US and space.
NTake care of colour
Nicole says: “Colour plays a huge role when it comes to styling the subject and selecting props. I particularly enjoy using palettes that are bold while still appearing soft. This creates subconscious juxtaposition and intrigue. Colours are often an afterthought, but they should be considered throughout.”
Become inspired
“I am inspired by a lot of random things. I could be in the kitchen and something will catch my eye. From there, I’d start to piece together concepts and roll around ideas in my head: imagining what the subject would wear, how I would style the hair, and what the scenery would look like.”
Find your process
“Prayer is a big part of my process. I find it helpful to ask God to enhance my creative vision. Before shooting, I have an idea of how I’d like a portrait to look. Things might take a random turn during the shoot, but in a good way. Ideas I hadn’t previously thought of come to mind, and the subject and I try them out.”
Control the styling
“I like to create an entire look for the subject: from the way in which their hair will be styled to the clothing they wear and the colours incorporated in the makeup look. From time to time, I also like to make an outfit from scratch. I once made an outfit using brown paper bags, and a dress out of tissue.”
Choosing subjects
“We all need to feel relevant. It’s very important to me that I capture individuals who look like myself. I want to highlight and celebrate black skin and black features, as we have often been made to feel invisible. My work is now being recognised on a larger scale, but it’s taken time and perseverance. Don’t give up.”
DIGITAL CAMERA 35
s you’ll see from page 70, Camera College has returned to the magazine… and for the next eight issues, it will be the place to visit for our monthly reader photo challenge – that’s why you won’t find your new challenge issued on this page.
AThis month, Camera College gives you hints, tips and insights for photographing food, and culminates in a reader photo challenge where the winner, as judged by the editorial team, will win a copy of Serif Affinity Photo software worth £49/$50. Subjects planned for the forthcoming instalments of Camera College include light trails and star trails, smoke art, dramatic landscapes, multiple exposures, motion blur, fine-art still-life and pet portraits.
So below, we’re publishing the top three entries for issue 235’s ‘Abstract’ challenge, which saw lots of high-quality entries. Congratulations to our winner!
ikon recently launched the Z 7II and the Z 6II, the latest iterations of two of its hugely popular full-frame mirrorless cameras. The Z 7 and Z 6 were received to great acclaim two years ago, but Nikon has made a range of compelling improvements to both models that weren’t feasible at that time. Here, we’re focusing on the Z 7II.
While the Z 7 had a single card slot, Nikon has listened carefully to feedback so the Z 7II sports a pair of card slots: one XQD/CFexpress and one SD UHS-II – the fastest variant of this format. So in addition to offering the peace of mind of in-camera backup, the dual slots allow access to a more affordable recording medium – and one that many users upgrading from another camera have already invested in. As well as improved
Nstorage capabilities, the Z 7II features a pair of EXPEED 6 processors. This major boost in processing power sees the maximum frame rate increase to a blistering 10fps (up from 9fps).
The maximum burst rate has also increased, and users can capture up to 200 JPEGs or 50 raw files.
4K video footage on the Z 7II is doubled to 60fps, and animal eye-AF can be used when shooting video – a result of the
Z 7II’s sheer processing power.
Fans of the Z 7 are likely to get even more from the next-generation model. The range of Nikon Z lenses will only grow, and with native ‘trinity’ lenses now available – the 14-24mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm – Nikon DSLR users might just be tempted into moving over to the brand’s acclaimed Z mirrorless system, too.
Nikon photographer Konsta Punkka has made the switch already – will you?