Ian Kobylanski

Principal Photographer

I'm a University of Victoria graduate from Vancouver, Canada, with a ten-year background in photography.

As of October 2023, I’ve left Vancouver to travel through Australia and Asia with my fiancée and ultimately make the permanent move to London, UK in June 2024.

I’ll be arriving in England with a British visa and an EU passport, along with my Canadian one. I am available worldwide for photography and you can find my updated location on my Instagram.

Through my professional photography career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with hundreds of past and present clients including:

While I find my creative focus in editorial fashion, lifestyle, street, and portrait photography, I bring excitement and energy toward shooting brands, businesses, and people-focused commercial work.

Mentorship (that continues today) from my former high school photography teacher has built the foundation of everything I know about cameras and photography. He was our teacher during the day and Vancouver’s top concert photographer at night. Through him, I was drawn to fashion photography, in particular, because of the eye-catching colour and the feelings evoked by the images he introduced me to.

Upon graduation, shooting photography professionally came as a means to support me through my Bachelor of Commerce degree and to continue pursuing my passion during a busy class schedule.

Photography matured through my five-year career in software sales after university as a side hustle. This enabled me to focus on the shoots that fulfilled me the most. Today, photography has grown to be my full-time career; it remains the lifeblood of my creative endeavors and energizes me both emotionally and creatively.

Featured in:

Peerspace’s 10 Best Fashion Photographers in Vancouver
Giggster’s Top 7 Commercial Photographers in Vancouver
Maclean’s Magazine July 2023 (see the featured national campaign for the Chinese Canadian Museum)

My Photography style

I highlight my artistic angle best when shooting outdoors. I focus on purposeful posing, bold colour and contrast, framing, architectural lines, and natural light with off-camera strobes and fill flash. I’ve been a Canon photographer since day one and currently shoot with a Canon R5 and Fujifilm X100V.

I match my portraiture subjects with environments and backgrounds that tell a story, add texture and colour, and move your eyes throughout the image.

I’ve always been drawn to the tones and textures of urban environments: concrete walls with marble-like veining, colour blocks of paint covering up graffiti, and cascading skyscrapers from an office tower view.

For indoor shooting, I bring my photography kit onsite to make creative use of the space or views you have available regardless of lighting availability. Otherwise, I can recommend unique studio spaces tailored to your project that come equipped with furniture for lifestyle shoots.

For fashion and lifestyle photography shoots with individuals, I love picking an area to explore, often a section of downtown, and roaming to capture a variety of backdrops – both planned and discovered together.

I am a firm believer that there is no cookie-cutter formula for capturing and editing great photos. I seek to tailor every shot to what showcases each subject’s personality best.

Before the shoot

Behind the camera, I'm someone who values a personal connection in photography above all. It’s what I owe my favourite images to.

Chatting on a video call, on the phone, or going for coffee (or beers) is important in my process to understand our mutual goals and to foster a sense of comfortability – whether that comfortability means you’ll be relaxed in front of the camera or confident in the execution of our brand campaign.

I am, who one would call, an extremely extroverted person. If you’re in front of the camera and new to working with a photographer, my goal is to make our session engaging and worry-free. I make conversation a core element while shooting. I’ll creatively direct and guide you through all posing and angles. This allows your focus to remain on being yourself and not worrying about where to put your hands. I’ll otherwise be a fly on the wall where needed to capture candid moments in their element.

Need help with what to wear? I’ll be your style guide – or, I can recommend stylists and other creative professionals like hair and makeup for any sized production. Do you have a set agenda, or are you open to my creative direction? I come to every session prepared with our shoot mapped out and eager to cater photos instilled with my own charisma.

I’d love to see any inspirational photos of yours that you’re looking to emulate. If you only have a rough idea and are open to recommendations, I’ll walk you through everything and share my approach.

In session

During portrait and lifestyle shoots with individuals, my focus follows a 70:30 rule: 70% of what’s coming from me is communication, direction on composition, and conversation with you; the other 30% is focused on the perfectly timed shot while in each expression. This captures subjects in their most natural and candid composure – and helps you focus on being relaxed and comfortable in front of the camera.

For commercial projects, I creatively direct and work with a team to achieve the media Koby Photography produces. This includes assistants on location, and where applicable: videographers, animators, stylists, hair and makeup, retouchers, and more. We assemble as one team to achieve the outcomes we share with our clients. If you’re an agency, we’d love to collaborate with your producers and team members each step of the way.

Sound Like A MAtch?

I invite you to read my client testimonials on Yelp!, Facebook, and Google, or follow my recent shots on Instagram below.

I’m excited you made it this far in reading my personal bio. I understand finding a photographer for yourself or your commercial project can feel like an opaque process at times. Many photographers write their “About” pages in the third person, but I want this to be an open letter written to you.

I hope to share every aspect of myself to help you feel the personality behind the lens. Contact me here if you’re interested in hearing more about getting started with a shoot.

I share my recent travels, photographer resources, photo journals, and projects on my blog.

If you’d like to support my work, I offer a collection of my favourite shots as prints and canvases through my online print store. They’re handmade, signed, and packaged here in the Mount Pleasant community of Vancouver, B.C.

Entrepreneurship story and interview featured in Go Solo