Larzhay is a luxury portrait photographer born and raised in New York City. He is a self-taught artist who transitioned from film to photography. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, he traveled around NYC/NJ and captured the desolation of the lockdown, which he hopes to turn into a book. He shoots with a Sony A7RV (his current camera of choice) and relies on Boris FX Optics in Photoshop to quickly add effects. You can find him on Instagram.
I’ve always loved it! As a kid, I would look through magazines and be in awe of the images, whether it was Sports Illustrated or National Geographic. There’s nothing like viewing a great photograph and letting it stimulate your imagination.
Cinema. For a time, I wanted to be a film director, so that’s my background. I admire the work of visionaries like David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, and Ridley Scott, as well as DPs like John Alcott, Roger Deakins, and Wally Pfister. Dreams are another source of inspiration for me. I write down what I see in my dreams and try to work them into a shoot concept.
I’ve been using Optics for two years now after seeing an ad in 2022. What caught my attention was how it was geared specifically to photographers' needs. I use it as a PS plugin and love how easily it fits into my workflow of Lightroom > Photoshop > Optics.
Previously, I used static overlays for effects, and it was time-consuming to get them to look precisely how I wanted. FX editing in Optics is so much more efficient because now I can place a lightning bolt and quickly alter the number of bolts, color, width, length, branches, angles, glow, and intensity — in literal seconds. I spend more time being creative and less time doing tedious tasks.
I was going to say either light leaks or lens flares, but it’s probably the EZ Mask. I love that I can create a mask, and change the filter to any other effect. The mask remains a truly underrated feature, to be sure!
Before Optics, I made my own glows in PS and purchased lens flare overlays. I’ve tried a lot of plugins (too many!) over the years and ditched them all except two, mostly because they bogged down my workflow. I’m thankful for Optics because almost everything I need is in one program.
I can’t choose one effect, but I’ll say the entire Light section is a treasure trove. It’s incredible how malleable it all is.
1) Ease of use and there are free tutorials online for anyone willing to learn.
2) A suite of first-rate effects with a “time” feature that’s truly game-changing.
3) Unlimited creative options that can be tweaked and saved make this a dream app for photographers.
Optics has so many options, it can feel overwhelming, but embrace it. Experiment with them all and try combinations you’d never think of. Optics is at its best when you don’t play safe with the program, so go crazy!
I’d love to be able to quickly flip effects horizontally or vertically. Not the layer but the effect itself.
My images are my babies! There’s no way I can choose between them!
Photography is like cooking. It isn’t easy and requires practice, skill, and dedication to be great. Everyone has a kitchen, and anyone can cook, but not everyone will be a great chef! A great photographer is a chef — just one who cooks with light.
Learn more about Optics and download the Boris FX Hub for a free trial.