Last Updated on 12/21/2023 by Chris Gampat
“I don’t post very often, compared to many photographers, and I suspect I may be just pushing my selectivity ‘upstream’ by being very stringent about what I choose to edit and post in the first place,” says photographer Ian Garrick Mason to the Phoblographer, noting our observation about his online presence. “If a picture makes that cut and survives my editing process, it can go on all of my platforms. I do tend to restrict my website by total number of pictures, so I have a tendency to put both my latest and my favorite older pictures there – but I don’t have a carefully worked-out strategy in that regard.” His opinion of what his best work is changes often; and so he tends to switch things out online. This is far different from what most photographers do these days and perhaps it comes from how long Ian has been working as a photographer.
All images by Ian Garrick Mason. Used with permission. For more, please visit his website and Instagram.
How Ian Garrick Mason Got Into Photography
Ian got started around a decade ago by taking photos of buildings while in Toronto. He was fascinated by how the light played off of tower windows. “It looked ‘Liquid’ to me,” he tells us. He then went on to buy a Nikon D3300 — what he calls a proper camera. In 2014, we published our review of that camera, which you can find here. From there, he experimented with casual portrait photography, headshots, etc. Eventually, Ian started working with models and realized he enjoyed fashion photography. “I took photography more seriously from then on, and the more I do it, the more it’s clear to me that a person can spend a lifetime at it, always searching for an ever more perfect balance of light and personality and movement and line and color.”
My general philosophy about gear is that I only allow myself to buy something new if I feel I’ve mastered the possibilities that my current equipment allows; I haven’t reached that level of mastery yet with the D3300 so I’ll stick with it for a couple more years at least. I do have a longer-run notion that I might buy a medium-format camera one day, as I like the cropping flexibility it can provide since the pixel count is so large.
Ian Garrick Mason
After all that time, he’s still shooting with that Nikon D3300 — and he hasn’t switched to mirrorless still. Paired with a 50mm f1.8 and 35mm f1.8 prime, he shoots all the photos that you can see on his website and social media pages. “I’m a strong believer in the idea that fashion photography is about two humans interacting and that the camera lens (and the shooting distances it partly determines) should reflect the reality of the humans involved,” he tells us. “I worry that if I used a longer lens I wouldn’t feel ‘there.‘” This sentiment is reflected through the work of many other photographers — indeed, they want people to feel in the moment with them.
The Creative Vision
When looking at Ian’s photographs, we noticed his use of color. The images we saw look influenced by Polaroids and Fujifilm 100C. This comes not only from the editing, but also with the wardrobe that the models have. Indeed, his color usage is very specific — and we learned that this comes from the way he edits.
“My fundamental approach to editing is to start from an openness to what a given photograph truly is, in its essence — or what it wants to be,” he describes. “As I edit, I often try a wide range of possible color approaches, and then start working with the one that feels most strongly aligned with the photograph and its personality. I might keep the look simple or (more often) I may layer semi-transparent looks on looks to find the right combination of tones and values.” His influences are also many. In fact, he even references Byzantine-era religious icons along with modern paintings.
Other times I’m inspired more by movies I’ve seen – I admire the great directors and cinematographers, and I’ve made short films myself. Sometimes I find the light rather than the colour is the dominant element and I play that up and let it run. Again, it’s about finding out what the picture wants to be and helping it realize its potential.
Ian Garrick Mason
Thoughts on AI Imagery
Ian’s thoughts on AI imagery are fascinating — especially because of his work in the fashion world. He believes that it can be a great visualizer of possible ideas that are yet to be executed. He also believes that it has the potential to vacuum up many of the higher-volume tasks that photography has taken on in the commercial world. But overall, he believes that AI will be limited by the fact that it’s unlimited. “What I mean is that the power of photography comes directly from the reality of the scene and of the subjects captured by the camera: the awareness of the audience that the model and the clothes are real, the awareness of the model that she is being photographed, the awareness of the designer that the clothes must look beautiful on a real human in a real setting,” he explains to us. “AI maximizes the range of what can be depicted (faster though no further than painting does), but at the cost of losing its tether to reality and reality’s constraints. Limits, after all, are what compress the magic of the real into the diamonds we call art.”