I’m a Graphic Designer who happens to take photos. Over 25 years as an Art Director makes
a difference in my work. Of course, you can learn technical skills as a photographer, but having a great eye is what really matters. I was lucky to work with many great photographers and was mentored by some great creative minds in the advertising industry – it taught me how to work with people, connect with my subjects, and, most importantly, see things with a designer’s eye.
Ian Ross Pettigrew © All rights reserved. 
Ian Ross Pettigrew © All rights reserved.
“First and foremost, I seek interesting faces. There is beauty in every face. But uniqueness is more valued to me. That unique quality helps determine the colors used, and ultimately the feeling of the atmosphere of the final photo.”
-Ian Ross Pettigrew
You’ll see a lot of my work on very bright, colorful backgrounds. I love color and using it to accentuate the person. Most of these images are recent – as you can notice with the one reoccurring model (my girlfriend) – quarantine will do that. One project we have started (still ongoing) is photographing a one-color set.
So an example here would be slicing lemons on the yellow background wearing the yellow dress. I’ve done many fashion-type shoots outdoors in the past, part of me misses them, but the other part of me prefers the controlled environment of the studio.
Some of my commercial projects are outside or on a specific location, so that’s usually a fun challenge and gets us out of the house every now and then. Having to stay at home for (close to) two years has forced me to be more creative and much more carefully selective with whom I work. I have Cystic Fibrosis, so I have to be vigilant with protecting myself in these weird times.
I search out interesting faces, first and foremost. There’s beauty in every face. But uniqueness is more valued to me. That unique quality helps determine the colors used, and ultimately the feeling of the atmosphere of the final photo.
And props helps, too, sometimes.
Amazon and dollar stores have been my lifeline during the pandemic for fun props and fabric stores for some interesting backgrounds. My mind still works as an Art Director, so I see things very graphically. I’m inspired by bold art and graphics, not necessarily by other photographers.
Ian Ross Pettigrew © All rights reserved.
Over the years, a few of these images are from using many different cameras, from Canon 5DMII to Nikon d810 to Fuji GFX 50s to my current Leica SL2.
For now, I don’t shoot video (although I’m getting asked more and more), so I prefer a camera that’s purer to just photographs. And since I shoot in studio, usually pretty slow, many features like burst speed mean nothing to me. So far, the SL2 is one of the best cameras I’ve ever used. When I first got into photography in the 90s, it was all medium format film when I worked in advertising. So I love the pace of shooting on film but love MORE the convenience of shooting digitally, tethered.
In terms of retouching, I try to spend hours on images. I’m pretty quick – I’ve been using Photoshop for 30 years – but if you do as much as possible in-camera, then less work on the desktop.
So I do initial color grading, etc., in Lightroom or CaptureOne, then do more of my fine-tuning in Photoshop, like skin retouching, etc. I like using a single strobe most of the time, but sometimes the shoot necessitates 2-3 lights.
I like some fun and whimsy in my photos. I’ve done some past projects that were very serious, deep, and profound. Lately, I find myself leaning more towards the fun side, even with everything that has been going on the last (almost) two years.
I did a series a couple of years ago with dogs floating with balloons; that was a goofy and fun project. Maybe a part two for that is in order.
We could still use a good healthy dose of levity right now.
