“Young man thinks that he’s gonna live forever
Young man drinks like he just turned twenty-one
Young man loves and leaves ’cause he don’t know no better
Young man thinks he’ll always be young”
Dan + Shay – Young
Lately it feels like life has been moving at a pace where if I stop for too long, I’ll fall behind somewhere. Work has been busy, family stuff has been busy, WoW has been busy, and by the end of most days my brain honestly feels completely fried creatively. I’ve caught myself opening Second Life lately without much of a plan, just sorting through my inventory trying to find something that sparks an idea again instead of forcing myself into creating for the sake of creating. In case you haven’t noticed I haven’t done a very good job sparking ideas.
Weirdly enough, that’s exactly why FOXCITY’s new Soft Focus series at this month’s Collabor88 ended up working out for me the way it did. There’s something refreshingly simple about it. Not “simple” as in empty or plain, but simple in the sense that it immediately made me want to take a photo again without overthinking every little detail first.
FOXCITY’s “Soft Focus Vol.1” is a brand new studio series themed around nature, featuring Earth, Sun, and Water variations that can be purchased separately or together as a discounted full set. The version I vibed with most was Earth, and honestly, the second I unpacked it I understood the idea Satomi was going for. It feels soft in this really intentional editorial kind of way.
The lighting has this warm diffused atmosphere to it that photographs beautifully without needing a ton of extra work layered on top. Depending on how you use each particular scene, it can lean more high fashion studio or more dreamy and atmospheric. The entire setup includes touch customization for the silks and podium, as well as the projector lighting controls and full brightness toggles, which ended up being one of my favorite parts of the release because tiny changes completely shift the mood of the space.
Turning the projector lighting on gives everything this cinematic glow that feels almost nostalgic. Hiding the silks cleans the scene up into something much more modern and minimal. Leaving everything enabled gives it this layered softness that feels like an ad campaign set. I kept the silks because it made the contrast with the rock podium felt appropriate.
It’s ridiculously versatile. Honestly, I think that adaptability is what made me connect with it creatively. I think lately I’ve been over-complicating photography a little bit. Treating every blog post or every image like it needs to become some giant concept piece to feel meaningful enough to share. Bigger edits. Bigger ideas. Bigger production. Soft Focus reminded me that sometimes the best photos happen when you stop trying so hard to force them.
Some of my favorite shots have come from nights where I just throw music on, setup a scene, mess with windlights for a (very long) while, and let the atmosphere carry things naturally instead of trying to drive emotion into every image. That was especially true while listening to Young by Dan + Shay, which pretty much became the soundtrack for editing this.
There’s something about Young that feels quietly emotional in a way I don’t think a lot of songs pull off very well anymore, at least in my opinion. It’s not trying to scream nostalgia at you. It isn’t trying to be overly dramatic about getting older or time moving too fast. Instead it feels more like somebody sitting in the middle of their life finally realizing how easy it is to miss moments while you’re busy chasing everything else. That hit me harder than I expected and I’m going to guess probably will with a lot of you as well.
Not because life is bad or anything like that, but because lately it feels like everything has been scheduled, timed, planned, rushed. Work. Responsibilities. Trying to balance family, creativity, friendships, real life, online life, all of it at the same time. Somewhere in there it becomes really easy to forget why you loved creating in the first place. Young feels like a reminder to hold onto those pieces of yourself before they disappear under routine. I think that’s part of why this photo turned out the way it did. I stopped trying to make it perfect. I stopped trying to make it bigger than it needed to be. I just let it feel warm and simple.
That same emotional thread carries into Say So, another track from Dan + Shay’s upcoming album Young, but in a more intimate way. Where Young feels reflective, Say So feels vulnerable. It’s centered around that human need for reassurance and honesty. Wanting people to say what they mean while the moment is actually happening instead of after it’s too late. There’s something incredibly grounded about that idea to me lately because life moves so fast now that people sometimes assume others already know how they feel without ever actually saying it out loud. That song really stuck with me while editing too.
Because the entire Soft Focus series feels emotionally present in a similar way. Soft lighting. Gentle atmosphere. Quiet warmth. Nothing feels harsh or cold about it. Even the Earth variation specifically has this comforting natural softness to the shadows and projector glow that makes everything feel more human and lived in instead of overly polished. Maybe that’s what I connected with most overall. Not perfection. Not giant elaborate concepts. Just simplicity.
That’s probably my favorite thing about FOXCITY releases overall. As I’ve said before, they always feel like they understand atmosphere first. The actual scene matters, obviously, but it’s the feeling behind them that sticks with me afterward. Soft Focus especially feels designed for bloggers, photographers, and model/creators who want their photos to feel polished and curated without losing warmth or personality in the process. It’s clean, flexible, and calming.
After the kind of busy stretch life has been lately, calm has been exactly the kind of creative energy I needed. FOXCITY’s Soft Focus Vol.1 is available now at Collabor88, with Earth, Sun, and Water variations available individually or as a full collection set. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve been looking for studio spaces that feel a little more atmospheric and alive than your standard backdrop setups. Credits for everything can be found below, see you again soon!
“Young man, I know you think you’re gonna live forever
Young man, take every day as it comes
Someday, you’re gonna see an old man in the mirror
So, young man, don’t you waste being young
Young man, don’t you waste being young”
Dan + Shay – Young
Credits:
~Scene~
Backdrop: FOXCITY. Photo Booth – Soft Focus Vol.1 (Earth) ~ Little Snacc ~ NEW @ Collabor88 (May 8-Jun 6)
Pose: SP – Santiago ~ SweetDaniellee Resident
~Him~
Head: LeLUTKA.Head.NOA.4.0 ~ Jaden Nova
Head Applier: VELOUR: KALEB Skin for Evo X ~ Kiria Mama
Hair: [MFCNT] THOR Bun – Grooming Hair – LeBarbier Alpha
Hairbase: LeLUTKA.EvoX.Hairbase.044 (BOM) ~ Jaden Nova (Comes with the LeLUTKA NOA Head)
Eyes: Avi-Glam. Prism Eyes – Pack 2 ~ Eye Daddy
Ears: ^^Swallow^^ Gauged S Ears ~ Luciayes Magic
Ear Tattoo: RichB. Ears Tattoo #08 ~ Salvy Hexem
Beard: [MFCNT] Ducky Skunk Beard & Stache – LeBarbier Alpha
Beard Layer: [MR] Jimmi Facial Hair for EvoX Heads Style 1 ~ Daniel Whiskers
Body: [LEGACY] Athletic Edition (1.7.1) ~ MeshBody Resident
Skin: VELOUR: PICASSO HOMME Skin for Legacy (FIT/TAN) Picasso Neck ~ Kiria Mama
Hand BOM: K.O.K.O.S SHOP – SEXI MAN HANDS-BOM ALL BODY. ~ Aleric Dallas
Nails: Pare.Cure Mesh Nails Both Hands [Short] – Legacy ~ Flazedo Resident
Suit Coat: [Deadwool] Sean Jacket ~ Masa Plympton
Shirt: [Deadwool] Staple tee ~ Masa Plympton
Pants: [Deadwool] Sean Trousers ~ Masa Plympton
Glasses: :: DS :: Heath Glasses ~ Deep Static
Ring (L): ~~ Ysoral ~~ .: Luxe Wedding Ring Eliot:. ~ Fenixdragon Rau
Rings/Bracelets: *RE* Atreides Bracelet & Rings ~ Crashnoww Resident
Earrings: = DAE = SXD1 ~ Naomi Darkheart