VSCO has pushed me toward exploring more cohesive series. It’s encouraged me to think less in single images and more in terms of visual storytelling. How color tones, textures, and light can carry across a set of photos.
Arjun Yadav doesn't edit image by image. He edits for the series, thinking about how color, texture, and light will carry across a full set of photos before he's even back at his desk.
That kind of intentionality doesn't happen by accident. For Arjun, it starts with a toolkit he knows well: WE6 Pro, a preset he co-created with VSCO as part of the We The Creators series, alongside A6 Pro, HSL, Grain, Fade, and subtle Bloom and Halation. Together they give his landscape, street, and aerial work a warmth and cohesion that's recognizable whether he's shooting the streets of Toronto or from above.
In this conversation, Arjun walks through the tools shaping his workflow, and why thinking in series rather than single images is what took his photography from personal practice to paid work.
1. What VSCO editing tools do you use regularly?
I regularly use a mix of presets, WE6 Pro and A6 Pro being my most used ones.
Then I fine tune the colors using HSL sliders. I also lean quite a bit on Grain, Fade and subtle Bloom and Halation to give images a softer, more film-like feel. Split Tone is something I will occasionally use as well.
2. What keeps pulling you back to film-inspired tools like Grain, Halation, and certain presets?
I am drawn to these tools because they help me move an image closer to how a moment felt rather than just how it looked.
Grain and Halation, in particular, add a sense of nostalgia that resonates with me.
I think what motivated me initially was a curiosity around film emulation,and using Fujifilm cameras with their built 'film recipes', film emulation presets came naturally to me in my photographic style, over time those tools became central to shaping my visual style.
Film emulation presets came naturally to me in my photographic style, over time those tools became central to shaping my visual style.
3. Have any of these tools changed how you photograph?
Definitely. Using these tools has made me more intentional while shooting.
I find myself thinking ahead about light, contrast, and how highlights will render, especially knowing how they’ll respond to bloom or grain in post.
Additionally with the new VSCO Capture app, I find myself reaching for my phone more often for photos, the ability to preview how an image will look with a preset applied in live view has been a game changer.
4. Has working and editing with VSCO changed how you think about sequencing and storytelling?
Yes, working with VSCO has pushed me toward exploring more cohesive series.
It’s encouraged me to think less in single images and more in terms of visual storytelling. How color tones, textures, and light can carry across a set of photos.
5. How would you describe what you're drawn to photograph, and why?
As a landscape, street, lifestyle, and aerial photographer, my work is shaped heavily by the seasons and the environments I move through.
I aim towards capturing the magic in the mundane, the everyday, often overlooked moments from my lived experience.
Edit for the series, not just a single image.
Arjun isn't chasing a single moment. He's building work that holds together. Across a series, across a portfolio, across the projects clients hire him for.
That starts with knowing your tools well enough that consistency becomes part of how you shoot, not just how you edit. Presets like WE6 Pro give warm, vivid color a reliable foundation. HSL lets you fine-tune what the preset starts. Grain, Fade, and Halation bring the texture and nostalgia that make digital feel considered. And with VSCO Capture, the look you're building is visible before you've even taken the shot.
One strong image gets noticed. A cohesive body of work gets remembered.
With the new VSCO Capture app, I find myself reaching for my phone more often for photos, the ability to preview how an image will look with a preset applied in live view has been a game changer.
