Photographer Spotlight: Giancarlo Pawelec

Bio: Toronto-based photographer Giancarlo Pawelec specializes in portrait, fashion, beauty, and commercial work, and has a signature style that blends and edgy feel with vibrant colours. Connect with Giancarlo online at pawelecphoto.com or on Instagram @pawelecphoto.

I would describe my style of photography as… 

Blending an edgy feel with vibrant colours.

My dream gig would be…

To combine my two passions – automotive and fashion – for a commercial campaign. Otherwise, it would be landing a fashion editorial spread in a notable fashion publication like Elle (Canada), Vogue, or ZINK Magazine.  

My favorite piece of gear is…        

My new Broncolor Siros L strobes. They’re powerful 800ws strobes that are battery-powered (thus making them portable), offer an incredibly consistent light quality, and the ability to use the BronControl app that is ideal for a multi-light setup especially when one strobe is 9ft+ up on a Super Boom.

 My favorite piece of Tether Tools gear is…      

It would have to be the TetherPro USB 2.0 Mini-B 5-Pin cable that allows me to tether my Canon 1Dx to my MacBook Pro – be it in my studio or on location. The JerkStopper Camera Support is a close second because, without it, I’d go mental! 

What’s on your photography gear shopping list in 2017?          

Having switched lighting systems from Speedotron and Elinchrom to Broncolor, I need to replace/update my modifiers for my Siros L strobes, including Broncolor Beautybox 65, Mola Demi 22”, and a Mola Euro 33.5”.  

The best advice I can offer a fellow photographer would be…

Keep shooting, even when the going gets tough. Stop spending your energy living through others, be a doer instead! Success is never an easy thing to attain especially nowadays, but the key as a photographer (or any artist in general) is in the lessons learned through trail and error. Formal education can only teach you so much; the rest must be honed in on your time and through experimenting. As Henri Cartier-Bresson put it, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”

We recently went behind-the-scenes with Giancarlo Pawelec in our How I Got the Shot Guide on the set of a fashion shoot. Check it out here.

https://tethertalk.com/2017/11/07/how-i-got-the-shot-giancarlo-pawelec-uses-colored-gels-and-fog-to-turn-up-a-fashion-shoot/