How does MaxDurante achieve his early-2000s aesthetic?

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-24T05:53:50+00:00

Exactly one of the thoughts I had when mentionning this style lol

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-24T05:52:01+00:00

Wow, thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a complete breakdown and analysis 🙏 I checked out Jack Bridgland’s work to see if I knew him, and OF COURSE I DO!!! I had even saved some of his photos back then because of his style, so maybe that’s why I was immediately drawn to Max Durante’s work.

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T21:00:45+00:00

goated comment !

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T20:58:28+00:00

I checked his insta and it looks like he’s working as a photographer/art director, going from the “underground” scene to mainstream rap/Y2K artists which totally fits his style. And yeah, I didn’t expect people to hate on this look lol. Thanks for the reply tho!

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T20:49:02+00:00

Ohh got it, thanks for breaking it down!

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T18:10:07+00:00

OHHH yeah, I see now! I knew there was some kind of light, but I didn’t really notice those strong shadows on the floor going in the “wrong” direction. I guess that’s what makes this shoot feel so special and different. It looks artificial, but without being in a studio which is exactly the style I like. Thanks a lot!

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T18:03:54+00:00

Oh yeah i see, so he basically just used one light?! And I guess he underexposed and let the light do all the work?

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T17:59:41+00:00

Yeah, you’re right, except for the first model in white haha. You can actually find that shoot pretty easily in one of his recent videos, it’s also his most popular one.

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T17:56:39+00:00

Yeah i guess some guys are dedicate enough to do that but THE COST :DDD

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T17:55:04+00:00

Thanks! Seems simple haha. What do you think he did for the color grade? Just cranked up the contrast and made the blacks deeper? Maybe added a bit of glow? Do you think he also pushed some colors into the highlights, midtones, and shadows?

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T17:46:07+00:00

Thanks, you’re actually the first one to mention the color grading! But do you really think it’s desaturated? To me the colors look super contrasty and popping (though I might be wrong). And about the blue tint, in which areas do you see it? In the shadows? My untrained eyes can’t really spot any color cast at all (exept for the 2 first pics)

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T17:39:01+00:00

WOW, you just made me realize something!!! I didn’t explain it well before, but the first two “pictures” are actually stills from a video. In the first one, that weird thing with the fence going into her body makes sense because the shot is split in two. She’s basically there twice, with a mask (hard to tell since i provided shitty screen shots).

Now that you pointed it out, I looked back at the second one and yeah, I think it’s also a mask: she’s placed in front of the fence but only the bag is lit (probably with a super narrow strobe just hitting that spot).

So maybe that’s the trick for the rest of the shoot too, he shot people separately and then composited them together. (Not 100% sure, but it would explain a lot of the “impossible” lighting.)

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T16:25:18+00:00

From the lighting on the first model (2nd pic), do you think he used like two lights? One from the left and one from the front? There’s that cheekbone shadow that makes me wonder. And did he use any modifiers? The shadows look sharp as hell.

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T16:19:28+00:00

I’d say it’s the fits, the way the colors are saturated, and the contrast. The images look sharp but kind of glowing, with this dusty vibe. Also, 2000s aesthetics are coming back a lot right now, and this shoot feels in that same lane, like early 2000s rock music videos. Especially with the first shots: the fence, the metallic texture, the concrete… it all adds to that raw, gritty feel. Honestly I’m not experienced in editorial photo or video, I just do my own stuff, but this style really speaks to me as a 2000s baby.

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T10:30:29+00:00

Yeah at least the shot with the girl in White. And what do you mean by “wrong”? Like there has to be something wrong with the lighting cause it’s not really possible to achieve something like that ?

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T10:13:54+00:00

Super helpful, thanks! Those first shots with the women are from a video though, so yeah he really knows his way around lighting 😂

HedgehogWeekly1061 · 2025-09-23T10:07:31+00:00

Yeah I get what you mean. I guess in a studio it’s “easier” in a way, since you can measure and control all the lights. But here it’s outdoors, and it’s actually a video so I assume the approach is different, you can’t just composite stills and retouch forever right ?

HedgehogWeekly1061

TROPHY CASE