Listen to Thirapat’s Spotify playlist, curated for Vamp:
Say hello to @paulpayasalad. Our Aussie influencer of the month shares his best advice to creating the perfect stop motion, which Photoshop and Lightroom tools he can’t live without and his tips to shooting flatlays.
Congratulations Thirapat! We’re so excited to award you with May’s influencer of the month. Tell us how you started your career in content creation.
Thanks so much for picking me! I originally started out as a foodie creator. At the time, Sydney cafes and restaurants didn’t use social media to promote their menus like they do now. I wanted to share these amazing dishes with an audience. As an international student from Bangkok, it amazed me how similar the menus could be, yet the dishes all looked so different at each place I shot at. This was another reason why I started my influencer career in food. I was driven by excitement as everything was new to me.
One day I got sponsored and not so long after that, a paid collaboration came my way. By that time my photography skills had sharpened and I decided to expand my niche to become more of a travel and lifestyle-focused creator.
What camera do you like to use and why?
The Fujifilm X-T4 is what I use and cherish because I LOVE its ergonomics. It’s such a handsome camera that can capture both still and video content. It’s also compatible with well-built Fujifilm lenses and other affordable third-party lenses that will give you a dreamy Japanese spring vibe.
What are your top three tips for styling and shooting flatlays?
Lighting, props and negative space are soooo important.
#1 I suggest you buy a good artificial light so you don’t have to depend on the sun. I use a Godox SL-60w for food and small product photography, a Godox FV200 Hybrid for interior and furniture shots and a Nissin Di700A Flash for portraits.
#2 Curate a collection of interesting props that will help elevate your product. I love Scandinavian-style items from Finnish Design Shop, Australian items from Minimax (usually tablewares), random unique artifacts from local antique stores and sometimes fresh flowers I handpick from my neighbourhood.
#3 Learn about composition. This is the most essential of the three. I love using the rule of thirds, diagonals and triangles, leading lines, rule of odds, left to right rule and repetition and patterns.
Your stop motion content is so mesmerising to watch. What is the usual process you go through when creating them to ensure they look perfect?
Starting with pre-production. Most of my storylines are inspired by other creators. When I watch a stop motion I’m inspired by, I think of what makes me like it and what the initial process would be. Then I let that sink in and come up with how mine would look different and distinctive to theirs. I always add my own personality and unique narrative.
Moving onto post-production. To make it perfect I take the photos in raw files and then edit them individually in Lightroom before combining them in Premiere Pro. This way you have full control over each image and it gives you more flexibility.
Do you have any hot tips for creators looking to start creating stop motion content?
Watch heaps. Watch stop motion films, Instagram Reels, TikTok videos – the works! Combine the knowledge you learn from them with what you can do right now. Then just do it. Don’t think about doing it! I love this image as it illustrates my advice perfectly:
Don’t be like Peter!
What do you use Photoshop and Lightroom for and do you have any advice for creators who have never used them before?
I seriously use them for every photo I take. Editing skills are just so important as a content creator – I can’t stress this enough. In Photoshop I can’t live without the spot healing brush tool (J) and I absolutely love the transform > guided upright tool (shift + T) in Lightroom.
I’m starting to delegate my work to other photographers and videographers to build a team. And I can do that because I know I can control the quality of the end product through my editing process.
But you don’t have to limit yourself to Photoshop or Lightroom. There are so many other apps that can achieve the same results, such as Snapseed, VSCO, LD, InShot and Prequel. You just have to be passionate enough to learn how to use them correctly. The more passionate you are, the further you will go in your learning journey.
Shooting detailed product photography like this isn’t easy. Tell us how you shot and edited this amazing photo.
For this shot, I used a macro lens and soda water, believe it or not. I’ve seen a lot of creators shoot this same style with water-resistant watches. I was inspired to try it out with skincare because the effect looks so refreshing, which is exactly how you want to portray a skincare product. And adding in those details wasn’t as hard as you think… the aloe vera is a weed in my garden.
Quickfire round. Right now I am…
Listening: Billkin, PP Krit – รู้งี้เป็นแฟนกันตั้งนานแล้ว (Safe Zone)
Watching: Shadow and Bones on Netflix
Eating: Vegan japchae
Wearing: Loewe, Jacquemus and Onitsuka Tiger
Drinking: Black sticky rice yogurt
Lastly, after working on campaigns for Clinique, Sheridan and Heinz, what do you like most about working with Vamp?
I like that you can choose to create content that aligns with your personal brand and aesthetic, for brands that share similar values to you. Plus, Vamp gives you the right amount of briefing. Enough to guide you through a campaign, but not too much to limit your creative freedom and art direction.
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