Illustrating Photos: Breathing New Life into Archived Images with a Creative Twist
As a photographer, I often find myself revisiting my archives—looking at older work with fresh eyes and wondering what new life could be brought into them.
Recently, I embarked on a small creative project that combined two things I love: photography and digital art.
And it all started with a spark of inspiration from my daughter.
The Spark of Inspiration
My eldest daughter, Jailah, is incredibly artistic and talented when it comes to digital design and illustration. One day, I had the idea: what if we took some of my archived photographs and reimagined them through her creative lens? I pulled a series of portraits I shot while studying photography at Humber College—images that still held potential but needed a new perspective.
The goal wasn’t just to edit them differently, but to blend photography and digital illustration into something new.
The Creative Process
For this collaboration:
I selected a few portraits that felt strong compositionally but could benefit from an added creative layer.
Jailah used Adobe Illustrator to doodle, draw, and digitally paint over the images—adding playful elements and graphic enhancements.
Her illustrations weren’t about covering the image—they were about building on top of it to tell a new, imaginative story.
The approach felt organic: letting her artistic instincts guide what needed to be emphasized, exaggerated, or reinvented.
Rather than traditional post-processing, this project became a true visual remix—where photography met hand-drawn art in a colourful, modern fusion.
Reflections on the Experiment
This project reminded me of an important creative truth:
Your existing work still holds endless possibilities—you just have to look at it differently.
By collaborating with my daughter, I was able to:
See my earlier work in a completely new way
Blend two different creative styles—photography and illustration
Create something playful, fresh, and personal
