Trey Ratcliff: What We Can Learn From His Photography

Trey Ratcliff is an incredible photographer, one whose work is dramatic, inspiring, and astonishing, often all at the same time.

But how can we take pictures like Trey Ratcliff? And what can we learn from his photography?

That’s what this article is going to cover.

First, I’m going to explain five photographic tools we can learn from looking at Trey’s work. And I will discuss how you can apply these tools in your own photography–for consistently stunning photos.

Trey Ratcliff’s Photography: A Quick Introduction

If you’re a fan of Trey Ratcliff, then you know that every photo of Trey’s is magical.

Ratcliff primarily captures landscape and travel photos, but his portfolio also includes the occasional portrait and street-style shot.

Ratcliff has photographed all across the globe, from Japan to America to New Zealand (which is where he is currently based).

Check out a few photos from his Instagram to get an immediate sense of his style:

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Here's a photo I just finished and I really like the way it turned out. I was in Rabat, Morocco, and visited this tomb just as it opened. There was almost no one around, and I gave the "international signal" asking if it was okay to take his photo. He gave me a mustachioed nod, so I took a quick one. Believe it or not, I spelled mustachioed correctly the first time… I was waiting for the red squiggly. #morocco #rabat #tomb #hdr #aurorahdr

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Jan 3, 2020 at 3:17pm PST

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Here's a remaster of a photo from The Met in NYC. I was there alone one time and walking around. I remember it very well because that was when I went to the Impressionist section and saw a Renoir and started to cry. I'm sure everyone thought I was an absolute basket case, but that's okay. I guess they are used to that in New York. #themet #nyc #museum #tears #emotion

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Dec 28, 2019 at 4:08pm PST

Very cool, right? Trey’s work has a certain ethereal glow to it, one that you occasionally find with other landscape photographers but rarely see in the travel genre.

So now let’s take a look at five things we can learn from his photography:

1. Don’t Be Afraid of Symmetrical Compositions

If you’ve been learning about photography, you’ll probably be familiar with the rule of thirds.

The rule of thirds states that the best compositions are non-symmetrical–these ‘rule of thirds’ compositions place key elements a third of the way into the scene on all edges.

But as Ratcliff’s work shows, you don’t have to follow the rule of thirds.

In fact, you can place your main subject smack in the middle of the frame, and your photos will be extremely impactful.

Now, it’s clear from Trey’s work that the best way to violate the rule of thirds is with symmetry. Place your main subject in the middle of the frame, but make sure you position it carefully. If you fail to produce symmetry, the shot will often fall flat–and you’ll wish you had just gone ahead and used the rule of thirds in the first place!

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I think we spent about three hours here inside Gaudi’s masterpiece. Thanks to Curtis, we had a special art curator from the cathedral get us special access to areas where the public is not allowed. One of the places she took us was up into the upper cloisters where the Pope hangs out when he blows into town. [La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain] #spain #barcelona #lasagradafamilia #sagradafamilia #gaudi #architecture

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Nov 8, 2019 at 5:58pm PST

Make sense?

Note that you can also start with a symmetrical composition, but then build up non-symmetrical elements around a symmetrical centerpiece.

So you can place a symmetrical building dead center, then you can incorporate elements from the left and the right into the photo to add a bit of interest.

2. Perspective Distortion Can Enhance Your Photos

Many architecture photographers spend countless hours in the field or in post-processing, trying to prevent as much perspective distortion as possible.

I’m talking about the look you get when shooting buildings from the ground–like the buildings are falling backward.

Because perspective distortion makes photos look like they’re not real, it’s something that architecture photographers (and real estate photographers, and street photographers) often try to correct.

But if you take a look at Trey Ratcliff’s photos, you’ll notice that he often embraces perspective distortion.

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Leaving Montreal soon for the art talk in Toronto! That one is sold out, but we recently announced Pittsburgh and Vegas. You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/tours/632035163939017/ (link also in my bio)- as for this photo, this is the amazing pipe organ in Notre-Dame here in Montreal. #MarriottBonvoy #MarriottAmericas #rediscovertheamericas #montreal #notredame #architecture #pittsburgh

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Jul 29, 2019 at 1:30pm PDT

Instead of thoroughly correcting distortion in post-processing, Ratcliff lets distortion mess with his images. He lets it cause problems.

And he embraces those problems.

Because the truth is that distortion isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It doesn’t look real–but photos don’t have to look real, as Ratcliff’s work shows.

He’ll sometimes shoot up at buildings, and let perspective distortion add a sense of wonder and awe to the photo, so the viewer feels like a tiny person looking up at the largest building in the world.

And you can do the same.

So the next time you come across some interesting buildings, feel free to get close.

And then shoot upwards, promising yourself not to correct any perspective problems in post-processing.

Ultimately, you’ll end up with some truly unique images.

3. The Color Grading Tools in Post-Processing are Your Friend

Color grading refers to a set of techniques where you alter the colors in your images.

For instance, you could make the greens a bit bluer.

Or you could saturate the yellows.

Or you could take the highlights and make them look pink–and you could make the shadows look a deep blue.

Cinematographers love to color grade. You’ll rarely find a movie that has no heavy color grading applied.

And Trey Ratcliff loves to color grade, too.

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While I was at The Vessel, I met this amazing gal from the middle east that makes her own clothes. Check her out at @drissfit96 – I was introduced to her by the great @professorhines #MarriottBonvoy #MarriottAmericas #rediscovertheamerica #fashion #design #portrait #thevessel

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Jun 27, 2019 at 11:49am PDT

Many of his photos are full of adjusted colors. He’ll add yellow highlights in some photos, green shadows in others. And he’ll bring out blues, greens, purples, pinks–all sorts of different hues.

But why is color grading so popular?

Because it gives visual art something extra, something special. With a bit of color grading, you can create deeply stunning images.

Plus, color grading can add different feelings to your photos. If you add blues, your image will feel colder and more somber.

If you add yellows, your image will feel warmer and more comforting.

Color grading can also add more depth to your images.

By using contrasting colors in the shadows and highlights, you’ll end up with a more three-dimensional feel (though it will be very subtle).

This is why, by the way, cinematography often features yellow highlights and blue shadows, or orange highlights and green shadows–because these colors contrast heavily with one another, and will add depth!

So don’t be afraid to experiment with different colors in Lightroom, Photoshop, or any other RAW editing program (because pretty much every decent modern software offers color grading).

While you should be careful not to overedit, it’s completely okay to try out lots of different looks and see what you like best.

That’s how the creative process often works, after all!

4. HDR Is a Great Way to Make Your Photos Special

Look at Trey Ratcliff’s work, and you immediately wonder:

How could these scenes be real?

After all, they don’t look real. The colors are unusually vivid, and there’s an unusual shine to the images, like they come from another planet.

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Heading to New York tomorrow! We just opened up new seats for the event there and in Toronto if you wanna swoop in and join me! You can grab those at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/trey-ratcliff-10843615666 (link also in my bio) #MarriottBonvoy #MarriottAmericas #rediscovertheamericas #moxychelsea #atthemoxy

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Jun 18, 2019 at 6:08am PDT

The answer is that the scenes are real–but they’re photographed using a technique called HDR, or high dynamic range imaging.

You see, your camera can normally only capture a certain range of tones, from dark to light.

So your camera can capture a scene that’s fairly dark: A portrait subject in front of a forest.

And your camera can capture a scene that’s fairly light: A kite against the sky.

But when you put very dark and very light elements together in a single scene, your camera will fail to get a good shot. It doesn’t have the range to display the entire tonal spectrum in the scene.

So your camera will lose detail in the shadows, or it’ll blow out the whites.

Up until a few years ago, this was something that couldn’t easily be dealt with.

If you came upon a landscape with a very bright sky and a dark foreground, you’d be stuck using a graduated neutral density filter. These mount in front of your lens and darken part of the scene so your camera can capture it all.

But the problem is that graduated neutral density filters don’t work if your scene isn’t nicely divided into bright areas and dark areas.

Plus, GNDs are cumbersome to carry around.

It wasn’t until recently that HDR photography became popular, which is what Trey Ratcliff uses to create such interesting effects.

HDR works by taking multiple images of the scene, all with different levels of brightness: a dark photo, a medium photo, and a bright photo.

(You don’t have to just take three photos. It all depends on the dynamic range of the scene!)

Then you put the photos into your post-processing software, and blend them together.

If all goes well, you’ll end up with a scene that has rendered the dynamic range perfectly–so that you have nice shadows and nice highlights.

Note that HDR photography can be overdone when you boost the shadows a bit too much or you drop the highlights a bit too much.

If this happens, your shot will look unpleasantly fake.

But generally speaking, HDR photography looks very cool, as long as you hold back on the editing.

Trey Ratcliff loves HDR. Many of his landscape photos are taken with multiple exposures in order to generate the HDR effect.

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Here's a new photo I just finished from Ibiza, and this cool old medieval area that is surrounded by old fortified walls. Inside, there are all sorts of restaurants and cool nooks and crannies. This is my favorite time of night to shoot when there is a mixture of ambient and artificial light. Unfortunately, it's also the time when I'm usually eating dinner… which means I spend over 50% of dinner away from the table and wandering about with my camera! #ibiza #hdr #dusk #night #islandlife

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Jan 19, 2020 at 3:40pm PST

And many of his other photos are processed in an HDR-type fashion, where he brings the shadows up substantially.

The look definitely isn’t for everyone.

But it’s certainly something that everyone should try!

5. Shoot at Night for the Most Creative Photography

Trey Ratcliff loves night photography.

All you have to do is take a quick glance at his portfolio, and that becomes clear.

He shoots landscapes at night. He shoots street scenes at night. He shoots interiors at night.

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EARTH. I usually spend 3-4 hours a night by myself… rolling around the desert taking photos of the art in all its incredible lighting. I have so much respect for the artists that come up with these ideas. Those of you at Burning Man, see you at the photo walk on Wednesday at 7.30PM at Center Camp. Everyone else, see you on the other side… #burningman #photowalk #sunset #blackrockcity

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on Aug 25, 2019 at 4:17pm PDT

And I suggest you try to do some night photography, too.

What’s so cool about shooting at night?

For one thing, night photography lets you emphasize the small spots of colorful light you’ll often find in the city.

Neon signs, for instance. Or the lights on buildings.

Plus, you can do cool long exposures (Ratcliff loves these) where you set up a tripod and shoot at a shutter speed of five seconds or longer.

That way, you’ll get light trails from any moving light sources–such as cars, buses, or bikers.

And these look amazing.

You’ll also give a creative blur to any people in the area (and many of them will be eliminated from the shot entirely).

If you shoot at night, you’ll also be able to capture photos that include a beautiful moon.

And you’ll be able to take photos of the sky in darkness, potentially resulting in stunning images of the Milky Way.

A word of warning, however:

Whenever you shoot at night, your camera will struggle to capture enough light for a good image. So you’ll either need to crank your ISO way up, possibly exposing your image to unwanted noise levels, or you’ll need to lengthen the shutter speed.

If you do choose to slow the shutter speed, you’ll absolutely need a tripod to work with.

Because without one, your images will turn out very blurry–and this just won’t look good.

Make sense?

What We Can Learn from Trey Ratcliff’s Photography: Conclusion

Trey Ratcliff is a popular photographer who uses certain techniques to great effect.

And now you hopefully understand what those techniques are, and how you can use them to create stunning photos of your own.

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A moody morning from on top of Coronet Peak during a cool Autumn day last week. #newzealand #coronet #coronetpeak #landscapephotography #moody

A post shared by Trey Ratcliff (@treyratcliff) on May 16, 2019 at 2:44pm PDT

So take a look at Ratcliff’s portfolio.

And then try to grab some fun shots of your own.

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