© 2020 Nomadict. All rights reserved.
Felgra Yogatama
@felgra_photography
Photographer based in Indonesia
Felgra grew up enjoying the natural wonders of his home country, Indonesia while learning how to visually capture its essence and beautiful creatures through the lens of his dad’s camera. His dad is a wildlife photographer, and from him, Felgra learned the basics of photography and the patience sometimes needed to capture a great photograph. While he felt excited to learn more about the craft, his personality brought him closer to travel and landscape photography.
The moment he first decided to jump into photography seriously was during his first year of high school. He captured photographs of his graduate classmates recommended by his teacher and earned his first paycheck as a photographer. The best was that everyone was happy with the result and got recommended to undertake more projects going from school to school and walking the first steps of his career as a photographer. Eventually, he reached a point where making a consistent income as a photographer was a real possibility, and his perseverance gave him financial stability a few years later. His story shows that nurturing your talent and believing in the journey can lead to great happiness, personal and professional.
Felgra also posted regularly on social media. Since 2011, he has been sharing meaningful content without caring too much about numbers. According to him, this mindset has been crucial in growing a community of more than 400k followers.
Staying true to the content you like and creating with the people you love are crucial to growing a brand. “Being able to create with my family makes me happy, and this is only possible thanks to the support of my wife – she supports me fully when I am out there.”
The photographs he captured gained international recognition, and during the last two years, he became an ambassador for some of the big brands in the industry. In his interview, Felgra shares with us essential strategies to create great visual content, so hopefully, you can also catch the attention of brands. In addition, he explains how he understands scale and proportion using visual examples and reveals his favorite photography spot in Indonesia, among many other things.
It was exciting getting to know Felgra personally. We hope his interview inspires you to grab your camera and continue pushing for your dreams!
Interview
Welcome Felgra! First of all, what brought you to photography, and what was the moment that you decided to take it more seriously and do it professionally?
It started when I was around six or seven years old. My father bought me a new analog camera in Indonesia, and I played with it.
Film photography was quite popular back then, so I could spend as much as I wanted on capturing an image, especially on a vacation or family event. I was so happy with the run gun analog camera and the shots since they looked so good. Furthermore, I think photography is a fantastic activity for young kids. So ever since, I have been shooting and making some memories.
The moment I decided to take it more seriously and do it professionally was when I entered high school, and my senior needed me to take a photograph for their graduate class. I received money for that, and since the result was good, other classes and schools also asked me to take photos.
"From that moment, I was sure that this hobby I loved could give me a certain amount of money and financial stability."
You are an ambassador of @lexarmemory, @lumecube and @polarpro. Why is it important to be an ambassador or what is the added value for yourself to be an ambassador for one or more brands?
Being an ambassador of @lexarmemory, @lumcube, @polarpro, and many more products is a bonus or reward. I never thought and expected that I could be one of their brand ambassadors because being their brand ambassador is a privilege in my experience, and I’m honored.
On your Instagram, we see many different types of content – Landscape, hotels, architecture, and travel shots, either video or photographs. What would you say is your creator style? How do you approach your Instagram feed/presence on social media?
Yes! I started shooting photographs when my dad was a wildlife photographer. I learned that shooting wildlife needs passion and patience. Unfortunately, I am one of those guys who cannot stay in the same place for hours or days. I started shooting first at the street, then landscape, portrait, and travel, which I love.
Nowadays, the type of content I create reflects my life: I make sure the moments I experience are framed as best as possible. I would mainly say that I am a travel photographer – and that area is huge! I can shoot anything from landscape to food photography for my viewers so that they can feel the enjoyment and vibe I had while traveling and discovering a location/country.
I approach my Instagram rather loosely. I am uploading at least 4-5 times a week, though I never care about numbers/algorithms, etc.
I have used my Instagram since 2011, regularly uploading content that meant something to me. When you share meaningful content, it is easier to enjoy social media. Because then you do not care that much about numbers. You know you have posted a creation that has meaning to you and that replaces any negative thoughts about the post’s performance. So based on that, I keep posting and doing my thing.
What are a few things that have contributed to your growth as a visual creator, you think? Meaning, your progression as an artist/professional as well as your growth as a digital creator on Instagram.
Well, first of all, having visual creator-friends from social media is great! But one thing we should know is that we should make an effort to meet and greet them in real life. As a digital creator on Instagram, I am blessed and thankful that I met new friends, had new experiences, and made new stories.
What are your essential strategies to create great visual content?
As I mentioned previously, I started shooting photographs inspired by my dad, who was a wildlife photographer. I am someone that cannot stay in the same place for hours or days. So I decided to try landscape and travel photography and fell in love with it. This content reflects my life, so I want those moments of happiness to shine in my photos. And to do so, I follow these basic principles:
1) I start by creating a storyboard. In my notebook, I organize my trip visually by doing some research in the first place. I search for images on Google that are interesting to me and take notes explaining what I like about those images and the location. By describing the photos, I am actively thinking already about the actual photo session, so I pre-visualize my objectives and create clear goals, image-wise, for my trip.
2) I complement this initial storyboard with some more research on Google maps, Earth, PhotoPills, and Windy. Since traveling to different destinations is time-consuming and you are already investing some money, I try my best to be at the right place and time to capture the photos I envisioned. The apps mentioned above help me find a location, understand where the sun will be at all moments, and what weather conditions I will have.
3) Once I am at the desired location, I try to add the right ND filter to my drone lens. Why do I use ND filters? Because I can control the shutter speed to create a more natural and cinematic feel. They also help me reduce the available light and create long-exposure photos, and this gives a different look to my images.
4) Leading lines and side lighting are essential components of my photography. When the sunlight is low and comes from a side, the landscapes turn more mystical and impressive, adding a sense of wonder and thrill to the images!
Similarly, what tips can you share with us to understand scale and proportion in photography?
In some areas the opportunities to create images that convey a great sense of scale are endless.
Your environment plays a significant role in the type of images you can create. But generally speaking, achieving a sense of scale is possible when counting with some basic elements: a foreground, the main subject, and a meaningful background.
The pictures presented below are good examples of this, where the colors help distinguish the different layers of the image, guiding you towards the hiker or hero. In a way, these images fit this category quite well as the traveler goes on an adventure, is victorious in a challenging task, and comes home changed because of the experience.
On the other hand, and going back to the photos, the pictures shown below have almost the same palette of colors for the foreground, subject, and background, guiding you through the stories homogeneously.
In addition, this series conveys a great sense of scale thanks to the relative size of the subjects. So a way to enhance the impression of scale in your photos is using proportion. For example, proportion in photography is essential when capturing a human figure – realistic human proportions make for a more lifelike portrayal. In contrast, unrealistic proportions create a more abstract and dreamy look. Therefore, by using proportion as a creative tool, you can add more or less importance to your subjects!
Your home country is a place where many photographs desire to travel to and shoot. What are your personal favorite locations in Indonesia/Bali? What makes these so photogenic to you?
Thank you, but wherever the lands take you, you have to make it beautiful, don’t you think? It depends on your eye and how you look at it or perceive it and your thoughts.
My favorite location in Indonesia is Yogya. The food is yummy and cheap there, and there are still hundreds of spots that haven’t been exposed/explored, from mountains to seascapes.
Out of all your travels, what has been one of your most remarkable experiences so far? What made it so special?
Thailand! The food! The culture! The people! Thailand is so picturesque and unique. I want to go back there so badly and start shooting. English is hard to understand in some regions, but thanks to google translate, you can comfortably travel and meet people.
You are married and have a child. How do you combine your personal life with your professional life and travel lifestyle? What is advantageous and what is challenging for you and how do you deal with that?
Yes, that is one of the best decisions I made in my life. Being able to travel and create with my family makes me feel happy, and this is only possible thanks to the support of my wife – she supports me fully when I am out there.
I guess the only challenge when I am traveling with them is time. My daughter is three years old and always runs from one place to another. So keeping my eyes on her to constantly watch her can be challenging as it requires some patience. But in the end, she is my daughter, and I enjoy every bit of it, she is so funny!
How do I deal with everything I do in my life? On the one hand, I guess no one is ready to be a father from day one. But you learn every day and hope you are doing your best. Keeping this mindset of doing my best, whatever I am doing, keeps me motivated and pushes me to be the best version of myself.
Nowadays we see so many young talented artists pursuing a career as full-time travel/landscape photographers. What four pieces of advice would you give them?
Respect the culture, respect nature
Ask locals!
Bring many memory cards
Shoot with anything – iPhone OR camera, keep shooting
Would you like content like this sent to your inbox?
