Abdullahi Santuraki on Editing Less, Shooting More

“Having recipes created from your previous choices does create an amazing foundation to build on.”

Abdullahi Santuraki discovered VSCO Recipes the way a lot of photographers do, by not wanting to lose something. After an editorial shoot where the edit came together exactly right, he saved it as a recipe because he couldn't afford to start from scratch the next time.

That moment unlocked something. Now, shooting editorial, events, and behind-the-scenes work in Cairo, and often sorting through hundreds of images at a time, his recipes are the first place he looks when he opens the editor. They keep his work consistent, give him a foundation to build on for conceptual work, and have made him a more confident, more prolific shooter because the hard editing decisions are already made.

In this conversation, Abdullahi shares how recipes changed his workflow, which photographers' recipes he keeps coming back to, and why he thinks of sharing creative tools as part of the job.

1. What was the first recipe you created? Why did you create it and how did it inspire your creativity?

The first recipe I created was actually for an editorial shoot I did, it worked so well it became the day I figured out you could actually save recipes. That's how much I didn't want to lose it.

I created the recipe because VSCO has done a great job creating multiple great presets and film emulations that I'm constantly spoiled for choice when I'm in the lab.

I shoot a lot of behind-the-scenes and events so I'm sorting through large amounts of photos, having recipes I could fall back on does really save me a lot of time and allows me to tweak the refined recipes to create work that's a little more artistic for my conceptual work.

2. How often are you creating recipes? What do they help you accomplish in your creative practice?

I create recipes quite a lot, they just make the process so much easier because I start from looking through my recipes instead of going through the presets first.

It keeps my work looking identical and helps so much in developing my style.

“I enjoy overshooting a lot more now due to the fact that I don't have to edit from scratch every single time.”

3. Has having recipes changed how freely you photograph?

I'd say I enjoy overshooting a lot more now due to the fact that I don't have to edit from scratch every single time.

Having recipes created from your previous choices does create an amazing foundation to build on.

4. Do you check out recipes from other VSCO photographers? If so, what are some of your favorites and who created them?

Oh yes I do! It's so inspiring to see how other creatives shoot and how they use the same presets I've got access to or have used previously to create work so different from mine.

Some of my favorites are:

• kothegrapher5
• tesxla
• epilogueofhare
• simrahfarrukh
• ussyshotit

5. How often do you share your recipes with other photographers?

I share my recipes all the time! This is a collaborative sport isn't it? Let's all stay inspired!

Build consistency and sharing inspiration

Abdullahi's recipe for more creative work is counterintuitive. Shoot more, not less. The editing decisions are already made.

When you build recipes from your best edits, you stop starting from zero. You start from somewhere familiar, and that changes everything about how you move through a shoot, a set of images, and an editing session. For high-volume work like events and editorial, it's the difference between a sustainable workflow and one that burns time on every single file.

Save any combination of presets, tools, adjustments, and effects as a recipe then apply your exact look to any image in one tap. Refine it. Share it. Let someone else take it somewhere you wouldn't have thought to go.

Because as Abdullahi puts it: this is a collaborative sport. Recipes help you play.

“It's so inspiring to see how other creatives shoot and how they use the same presets I've got access to or have used previously to create work so different from mine.”