Mark Ganzon is an Art Director and Photographer living and working in Dubai. Mark specialises in photographing backstage amid the mayhem of a runway show but achieves a perfect balance with his beautifully relaxed portraiture. Enjoy…

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first became interested in photography.
My name is Mark and I’m an Art Director and Photographer based in Dubai. I’ve been shooting backstage and portraits for model test shoots for about three years now, starting off as a hobby about six years ago.
I particularly got interested in shooting backstage fashion when I got involved with the platform ‘Fashion Forward’ here in Dubai and have been doing it for seven seasons now. I really find it interesting to see how things are made during the different fashion shows and that’s why I have stuck with it; it’s so raw, it’s beautiful.

You are known for your shots taken backstage at runway shows; what is it like shooting in such a frenetic environment?
It’s a rush, to be honest; you get to feel what the designers and the rest of their team are feeling right before the show knowing that a collection takes ages to do and the show only lasts for about 20-30 minutes. Everyone knows that messing up how things are presented would be catastrophic.

What kit do you carry with you when shooting backstage?
I carry a Nikon D750 for the most part and a handy Fujifilm X20 for my side arm. My go-to lens would be the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art lens along with a 50mm and a 70-300mm for long shots.

In contrast to your backstage shots with their frenetic energy, your tests and portraits have a much calmer, more relaxed and natural feel to them; which style do you prefer and why?
I do prefer to shoot tests in calmer environments just to keep a serene feel to the photos.
I also prefer to shoot with natural light as a style approach to give the photos that raw look with minimal retouching. I never was a fan of airbrushed skin anyway; it misses the whole point of doing natural-looking photos. After all, it’s a test shoot, right? Haha.

Are you currently working on any projects that you can tell us about?
Right now, I don’t have anything as yet but I’m looking into doing more test shoots and collaborations when I am in Berlin and Switzerland this August. Should be interesting given the change of scenery.

See more of Mark’s work at:

Website / Instagram / Tumblr / Facebook

Backstage images courtesy Mark Ganzon & Fashion Forward Dubai.
All images copyright Mark Ganzon/Burstparty.