Beautiful World Magazine, August 2020

The June issue was 18 pages of art, interviews and instruction. The July issue was even bigger with 42 pages. This August edition, we’ve continued to expand with 52 pages of gorgeous art! I’m so proud and excited every month to showcase the talented artists who share their work with those of us in the group! Please also remember you can share on Instagram with the hashtag #jdBeautifulWorldCollection to be featured on our Instagram account!

Please also remember you can share on Instagram with the hashtag #jdBeautifulWorldCollection to be featured on our Instagram account!

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Don’t forget to watch the free tutorial from Catherine Auger!

Catherine shares inspiration for her self-portrait work and demonstrates some of her editing techniques in this new video, exclusively for Beautiful World Magazine Subscribers!

52 Pages of fine art inspiration, with interviews and images from:

• Artist of the Month, Marta Everest
• Guest Artist, Catherine Auger of Evergrey Photos
• Featured Artists, including Tara Lyn Joseph and Julie Johnson Lockridge

Want to see YOUR work featured? Here are some tips!

1. Submit your work regularly to the Beautiful World Group on Facebook
2. Carefully name the JD products you used when editing. (P.S. – Your tweaks and hand edits are ALWAYS assumed)
3. Make sure your upload is a minimum of 1500 pixels on the longest side. (Preferably 2000 pixels if I’m being honest, but I know that’s a little large for some folk’s comfort).
4. If possible, upload without a watermark. If you do use a watermark, please have it small or off to the side. Often they just tend to draw too much attention away from the other art so I often choose other images with smaller or less centralized watermarks.
5. Keep posting! Don’t feel bad if I didn’t select your art for this month’s edition. The process can become very complicated when making collages and I only have so much space.
6. Think about monthly themes. For the August issue, I’ll be sharing summertime, and perhaps July 4th related shoots. Often, I will tell members I’m looking to do a series on a particular product. Your chances improve if you work with some of these themes in mind.

While you’re here….

Please allow me to give you a little backstory on how I started my business way back in 2009.

I bought my first “real” camera back in 2008. I enjoyed digital photography and adding textures because it reminded me of my former job making cover art for video games. I made my first photographic textures and gave them away for free on my Flickr account. I wanted to learn how to create something that would work for a wide variety of styles and subjects. I would make something, then see how it was used and received by others. It was a great learning experience for me. I truly enjoyed the feeling of sharing and collaboration.

The first full product I released for photographers was created as a fundraising opportunity over a decade ago. I designed textures for a Flickr friend who was going thru a hard divorce with kids. Funny enough, I never heard back from her after that! I honestly can’t even recall her name anymore. I wasn’t bitter or and I don’t think I raised that much money (it all went to her PayPal account), but it was a lesson for me about the Internet and digital products in general. I found I enjoyed making tools for sale!

It was an interesting way to begin a business. Because I sold the textures for charity, it took some of the pressure off me. I didn’t agonize, wondering if my work was “good enough” for anyone to want to use as a part of their art. Discovering that people were enjoying placing my work in theirs was unexpected and exciting! I was hooked!

One of the most fulfilling aspects of making tools for other artists and photographers is that it truly feels like an artistic collaboration. I get an emotional boost when people tell me that I’ve helped them to realize a vision. I enjoy seeing a post and being genuinely awed by it, only to find out that something I’ve created played a small part in helping the artist to the finish line.

I never wanted my tools to feel heavy-handed. I never wanted to create something that would mold someone else’s work into looking like a copy of my own. I wanted to simply allow folks to find their own voice with a little help from customizable tools. I believe the best teaching and tools allows others the ability to unlock the visions in their own head, to find their own unique style and tell their own true stories. My contribution is just a little piece to a big overall puzzle that you put together whenever you pick up a camera, shoot an image, then edit it.

I’m grateful to all of the artists and photographers who have allowed me to be a part of their artistic journey all these years.

Please enjoy this magazine and all the wonderful artist contributions that have made it so special. If you have any questions, you can always reach out to me at [email protected] or ask the other helpful members in the Beautiful World Group on Facebook.

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