Ian Kobylanski
Principal Photographer
I’m Ian; I also go by Koby. I’m a London-based lifestyle photographer and director, specialising in street, portrait, fashion, and advertising photography.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, I’ve spent the past decade developing a body of work rooted in editorial and commercial lifestyle photography, blending refined storytelling with a relaxed aesthetic inspired by the documentary feel of my London street photography and candid street scenes around the world.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a diverse range of international clients in the United Kingdom, Canada, and around the world, including:
My Journey
My photography career began with the mentorship of my high school teacher, Anil Sharma, one of Vancouver’s top editorial concert photographers. He instilled in me a fundamental lesson: never compromise on what I want to shoot. His influence first drew me toward fashion photography and set me on the path to pursuing it professionally.
While pursuing my Bachelor of Commerce degree, photography became both a creative outlet and a way to support myself. After university, I spent six years working in software sales, an experience that sharpened my understanding of the corporate world – particularly the importance of communication, managing expectations, and delivering on deadlines. Throughout that time, photography remained my passion, evolving from a side hustle into my full-time career.
Leaping into full-time photography, I realised that what I find most fulfilling is connecting with people – especially guiding those who aren’t professional models to feel confident in front of the camera. This led me to my niche in lifestyle photography in London: creating natural, candid-feeling images built on trust and natural interaction between photographer and subject.
I make lifestyle imagery commercially as an advertising photographer, editorially through portrait photography and fashion work, with leaders in personal branding photography, and personalities through dating photography – something you may not have heard of before, but I explain more below.
Beyond commissioned work, I spend all my time immersed in street photography, documenting people in London and around the world in their unscripted moments. At Fashion Week, I approach strangers, street cast, and create award-winning street-style portraits for editorial and commercial clients.
This documentary-style approach underpins my personal work, guiding my travels and shaping the authentic, relaxed aesthetic I bring to every photoshoot.
“We first discovered Ian’s work through his street style coverage of London Fashion Week, which led us to commission him for the Spotted by Pinterest series. His images performed strongly from the first season, and we’ve since built an ongoing partnership across London and, most recently, Berlin and Copenhagen.
Ian is a reliable and creative partner who understands the brief while continually bringing fresh techniques and ideas to each campaign. He adapts his approach to the character of each city, communicates clearly, and is confident casting and directing distinctive people on the street. He has a sharp eye for emerging fashion trends and often identifies new patterns as they develop throughout the season.
His combination of candid street photography, commercial lifestyle photography and fashion portraiture feels colourful, authentic and full of real expression. The resulting images resonate with Pinterest’s audience and inspire people looking to develop their own style from what’s happening on the Fashion Week streets.
We’d happily recommend Ian for advertising and commercial lifestyle photography, particularly for his ability to blend candid street photography with editorial fashion portraiture.”
Featured in:
Peerspace’s 10 Best Fashion Photographers in Vancouver
Giggster’s Top 7 Commercial Photographers in Vancouver
Permanent fashion photography gallery exhibition in Vancouver
The Vancouver Sun interview and feature
Entrepreneurship story and interview in Collabs Mag
Trope: Reader and Trope: Los Angeles street photography hardcover book features
My approach with individuals
Great photography with individuals who aren’t frequently models starts with a genuine connection – that’s what sets my approach apart. I prioritise clear communication and direction to ensure every subject feels at ease in front of the camera. Whether we meet in person or over a video call, building rapport beforehand helps us align on our vision and creates a relaxed, natural atmosphere on the day of the shoot.
My goal is to make every session engaging and effortless. By minimising on-the-day decision-making, I guide subjects through poses, prompts, and angles that bring out candid, authentic expressions – so they can focus on being present rather than posing.
For commercial projects, I take on a creative director and producer role, leading a team of assistants, cinematographers, stylists, and other collaborators to achieve exceptional results. I welcome close collaboration with agency producers and creative directors because the best work comes from shared vision and seamless execution.
My Work in London
While I specialise in commercial advertising photography and editorial portrait and fashion photography as my primary commissioned services in London, at my core, I’m a people photographer, with street photography driving my observational passion.
On the directing side, lifestyle photography, as an umbrella term, defines what I do best; I thrive on working closely with my subjects, guiding them through every step of the process to create images that feel natural, engaging, and impactful – especially non-models.
Many photographers in the advertising world keep their wider lifestyle work services under wraps, but I embrace what makes me a people photographer. Beyond the work in my overview portfolio, I collaborate with individuals and businesses to produce compelling headshot photography and authentic personal branding photography, helping business leaders present themselves with confidence.
Perhaps most uniquely (and, to some art buyers and commercial clients reading this, unusually), I am a dating photographer in London.
To some, dating photography carries a stigma – many in the creative world have never heard of it, and it requires explaining. In reality, my dating photography work shapes my directorial style with non-models and has a measurable impact: I’ve helped clients find their life partners. My core clients are successful, sociable working professionals who are newly single, value their time, and are looking to reintroduce themselves, often travelling to London from around the world to work with me.
In every session, I’m their friend with a camera and avoid it looking like a staged photoshoot through visual storytelling, curated locations, contextual set design, and relaxed banter, just as I do in all my commercial work.
It’s a natural extension of my expertise in lifestyle photography – one that enhances my approach to commercial and editorial campaigns while allowing me to make a deeply fulfilling impact on how people see themselves, whether at an individual level or through advertising campaigns that reach millions.
Sound like a match?
Check out my client testimonials on my services pages, follow my recent shots on Instagram, or see my favourite images in my portfolio.
If you’re interested in a shoot, contact me for a consultation or estimate. I’d be excited to hear from you and to start collaborating.
“Ian is an absolute pleasure to work with. He is a partner who is extremely professional, efficient and able to anticipate needs both on set and prior to executing a job.
On set, he is agile with business needs and is able to add value to the environment taking place with such ease. The quality of the work that Ian produces consistently exceeds expectations and he does this all with an amazingly supportive attitude. Really truly, cannot recommend working with Ian enough!”
