Adolescent had the incredible opportunity to partner with VSCO, the photo company for creators, by creators. Together, we explored how young people around the world create the extraordinary from their everyday using VSCO X, a membership accessed through the VSCO app (available on iOS and Android). As VSCO X members, Adolescent creators received exclusive access to VSCO's complete preset library, newest photo editing tools, and inspiring educational content.

They asked some of our young creators to shoot ordinary things, and through their lens and with the help of VSCO X editing tools, were able to transform them into something extraordinary. 

Our creators took this prompt and ran with it, creating really exceptional pieces:

Abigail Berger 

The first thing that came to mind upon hearing about VSCO's new campaign mantra about finding inspiration in the ordinary was capturing the origins of possibly my most powerful tool as an artist: imagination. Set in my childhood home, I focused on capturing moments in ordinary rooms with a lively and creative subject representing myself through various stages my youth. I present my model in child-like situations in which the imagination tends to take over. Whether she's a princess playing dress up, a mermaid in the bathtub, or a time traveler taken back to the time of the dinosaurs, I wanted to express the magic of the far off places I visited as a child but never actually went to. For my editing process I used the Q filters, as I felt they captured the colorful nostalgic feeling I had in mind exactly for this series. I then played with the highlights and exposure to give the series a retro film look.

Myles Loftin

This project was all about finding the beauty in the everyday things that you see, so I took a walk around my neighborhood and snapped photos of things that I saw along the way that inspired me. Usually I'm drawn to photographing humans, but for these photos I was drawn to the subtle details that you might miss while walking around. Wether it be some really cool wall art, debris from the Chinese New Year, or lights on a really cool building. I wanted to focus on those details and make people pay attention to them. Once I brought the images into Lightroom, I used VSCO presets to bump up the colors in the photos and give them a more unique feeling that was similar to how I felt about them while I discovered these moments on my walk.

Claire Jantzen

Through the lens, my focus is always on telling a story or conveying a certain emotion. This is often driven by my fascination with the deeper meaning within creative works, especially when it comes to shooting portraits.

This series is different for me. Although portraits are my go-to type of work, landscape and nature is my “thinking zone”. The silence of vast spaces frees my mind most. It’s a bit confrontational, forcing me to think about things I’ve repressed or put aside. This is where my most creative self comes to life - after I have a moment to break away and reconsider what is most important to me.

This collection of images is an ode to the spaces that comfort me - my escape in a very materialistic world. With VSCO X, I am able to bring out the richness within these spaces. With various tools, I intensify the playfulness between the dark and light and draw more attention to the brilliant colors that ease or brighten my mood. With a greater range of presets available on VSCO X, there are more options that represent the atmosphere that I experienced when I was there in person. VSCO X really allows me to relive these moments, letting me carry this quiet space with me wherever I go.

Parker & Riley Halliday

In our shadows we extend ourselves into the world. These shadow images were shot on smartphones and edited using the VSCO Film 03 and 00 for Adobe Lightroom CC. These images were first edited in Photoshop. We then digitally collaged clippings from vintage magazines onto the shadows, giving them life. Next, the images were edited in Lightroom with the VSCO presets. There are no limits with art, creativity is everywhere, but sometimes the best places to look are quite literally in front on you...or to the left or to the right of you, depending on the position of the sun. VSCO X has turned mundane moments into little masterpieces.

Joji Baratelli

Living in a city like LA, it’s so easy to find myself lost in my own world—whether it be a phone, a driving destination, or just the circle I spend time in. But with a camera, it’s suddenly different. I’m able to openly walk the streets, explore a world, and see the fleeting people and things and places that exude these brief spurts of inexplicable beauty. And VSCO X certainly seems to compliment that: Only with it do I feel like I have the latitude of specific film stocks, yet the instantaneity of digital to best represent these fleeting slices of life around me—the color, the crop, the light all need to match just right to represent the beauty of our overlooked world.

Laurence Philomène

My name is Laurence Philomene, I am a 24 year old queer photographer and director obsessed with daylight and bright colours. These images are a collection of diary moments from recent months, both real and imagined; shots of friends between Montreal, Toronto and Berlin. To me, the most important part of a photograph is colour, so for these photos I used the VSCO X tools and filters to make them pop even more and get just the right tones. I’m always running around taking a million pictures so having the ability to edit my work directly on my phone has been a real blessing!

Lauren Tepfer

Growing up a creative person, I have always been drawn to unusual subjects. I was raised in a small town in New Jersey with a population of less than 8,000. I am interested in the in-between moments of my life: shadows on the sidewalk, the glow of an orange streetlight, a yellow hue seeping through the window of a neighborhood home. With VSCO X I am able to amplify these moments and transform them into something really special. VSCO X allows me the ability to choose from an abundant amount of presets and tools to help transfigure my photographs and videos. I love VSCO X because of its user friendly interface and dedication to its creators and their work.