Westcott Top Pro Photographer

Ian Spanier began taking photographs at six years old when his parents gave him his first point and shoot camera. After majoring in photography in college, Spanier worked in publishing as an editor, but making pictures never left him. Having only known 35mm, he taught himself medium and large format as well as lighting.

Ian’s first full book of published work, “Playboy, a Guide to Cigars” arrived in cigar shops November 2009 and the public version hit retail stores Spring 2010. The book is a collection of his photographs made in six countries spanning two and a half years. His second book project, “Local Heroes: America’s Volunteer Fire Fighters,” came out to critical acclaim in the Fall of 2012. His personal project,“Right Next Door,” has been featured on Huffingtonpost.com as well as The Daily Mail and his latest project, MoTo is now a multi-award winning series.

Ian is a Westcott Lighting “Top Pro,” as well as a Brand Ambassador for Spider Holster, CamRanger, ThinkTank, Hoodman USA, Naroo Global and True Classics. He lectures regularly for Canon, B&H Photo, and PPA.

The original “Masters of Photography” have always inspired Spanier as they shot what they saw. For him, there is no “one” subject that he photographs; he also chooses to shoot what he sees.

Although he works anywhere and everywhere, Spanier recently left NY for the sunny coast, and now lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Clients include: MTV, Comedy Central, A&E, HBO, Runner’s World, Fast Company, Shape, UFC, Conde Nast Traveler, Danskin, Field & Stream, Muscle & Fitness, Men’s Fitness, Marie Claire, Time Out NY, Psychology Today, The New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, AirTran’s Go Magazine, The New York City Economic Development Corporation, Bank of America, Gerber Knife Company, This Old House, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Robert Irvine, Oxygen, WP Carey, Time Inc. and Simon and Schuster, FLEX Magazine, M&F HERS, Price Waterhouse, LowePro, FujiFilm, and 2Xist.

Ian Spanier's Favorite Westcott Gear:

 

Articles by Ian Spanier

Creating Cinematic Portraits with LED Continuous Light

When Ian Spanier sets out to create a dramatic portrait, he looks to the sun for inspiration, shaping studio lighting the way nature shapes light. In this video, Ian walks us through his “what you see is what you get” lighting process using Westcott LEDs to build a cinematic portrait from the ground up.

Full Lighting Breakdown: High Aperture Portraits

Photographer Ian Spanier takes us behind the scenes for a deep dive into how he captures studio portraits using high apertures. This shoot is a revisit of a personal project photographing motorcycle riders in his living room. What started as a creative challenge became an exploration of lighting control, depth of field, and the power of reliable gear.

Lighting Dynamic Portraits for an Album Cover

Portable On-Location Setups for Portrait Photography In this video, Top Pro Ian Spanier captures seamless portraits on-location using a two-light setup and the portable X-Drop Pro backdrop system. Ian works with singer/songwriter Travis Howard to capture a dynamic flash photography portrait for his album cover. His lighting setup includes two FJ400 400W strobes.
Behind the scenes using the FJ200 and 24" Deep Umbrella

Blending Flash with Ambient Light

Portable Flash Setups for Portrait Photography In this portrait photography video, Ian Spanier uses portable lighting for on-location photography to blend his flash with ambient light. When you’re photographing on-location, having a compact and portable lighting setup is ideal for traveling.

Portrait Lighting in Challenging Locations

In this video, Top Pro Ian Spanier is photographing a fly fisherman on location in two on-location settings with challenging lighting conditions. His mission is to showcase the different ways to use portable lighting in both scenarios. He also dives deeper into his thought process when shooting in a new location for the first time.

Lighting Model Portfolio Portraits Outdoors with Ian Spanier

Top Pro Photographer Ian Spanier has spent many years shooting on-location and capturing strong images that tell a story. We teamed up with Ian in Denver, Colorado to see his process for on-location shoots during a model portfolio session. Ian knows on-location shoots usually bring multiple variables, including scouting the right environment for lighting purposes and packing gear that is portable...