This brilliant young Canadian pro bridges the gap between freewheeling spontaneity and precision image control.
The technical sophistication, sheer conceptual brilliance, and gut-wrenching graphic impact of Lane Dorsey’s images mark him as an accomplished master. It’s a remarkable achievement considering that this native of Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, Canada, is only 24 years old. Dorsey has already earned widespread recognition as an award-winning portrait and commercial photographer. And while he’s still based in Toronto he often travels to New York and Los Angeles on assignment. He studied at the prestigious Sheridan College of Art & Design located in his hometown, and he won the Sheridan College Award of Excellence in 2013. His other honors include the Vistek Award for Best Studio Image Using Phase One (2014), and being named International Photographer of the Year by the Alternative People’s Choice Awards (2015). Dorsey’s impressive client list includes Universal Music, Sony Music, Diesel, GQ, Maxim Magazine, TD Bank of Canada, and Sharp Magazine. He has also created iconic portraits of countless TV and social media personalities that appear in print and online.
From the time he was a teenager, Lane Dorsey was fascinated with photography. He would take out his grandfather’s DSLR and shoot pictures with the foreground in focus and the background blurry, intuitively emulating classic portrait techniques. In high school, he took pictures of his friends skateboarding or playing music, experimented with lighting setups, and made lots of funny videos. Slowly these random fun experiences coalesced into a focused passion that ultimately led to his assembling a portfolio of flower, cat pictures and landscapes that he presented to Sheridan Collage along with his application to their Bachelor of Arts program. “I got in, and that was the catalyst for my growth as a teenager, and also as an artist-photographer,” he recalls.
Dorsey’s images almost always include an overt or implied narrative, and in that sense he’s a visual storyteller. However he also confronts the challenge of balancing the haphazard elements in his work with a precise control of lighting and composition to create a unique dynamic tension. “When I succeed in doing that, it’s very rewarding,” he observes. Using objects that speak to a sense of “youthful nostalgia” is another one of his favorite motifs—Nerf guns, pop tarts, Buzz Lightyear, comic books, videogames, etc. He feels such props are essential in “pulling off a laugh” while capturing some awesome imagery. He must be doing something right because he’s in high demand and earning a good living in the profession he loves. “Being a young adult with some money in his pocket is great, because now I can go back and buy the toys I wasn’t allowed to have as a kid,” he observes with a wry smile.
Lane Dorsey doesn’t wax philosophical about his images or see them as expressing a grand esthetic concept. He’s genuinely serious, but also very down to earth and refreshingly matter-of-fact in assessing his work. His goal is simply to create compelling pictures and videos that make people say “Oh wow!” However he’s also acclaimed for taking the time to create lighting that works perfectly to reveal and showcase the subject in front of his camera, whatever it may be. “For me, lighting and tone are the main creative elements that convey the message I’m trying to express through my photography,” says Dorsey. “And if for some reason I can’t achieve perfect lighting I fall back on a witty and charismatic narrative to carry the day.” In short, Dorsey sees his primary mission as creating striking images that stop people in their tracks, and his secondary objective as capturing pictures that are funny, witty, or charming, or all three at once. He also strives to create pictures that have a distinctive look and an identifiable style that makes them stand out from the rest. “Lately I’ve been trying to infuse a little witty charm into my work,” notes Dorsey, “and I’ve been playing with the idea of nostalgia by incorporating memorabilia that create an “old feeling” for people of my generation.”
Dorsey’s go-to camera is a Nikon D800 he bought in 2013, paired with a battery grip to enhance firepower and handheld stability, His two favorite lenses are a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro he describes as “amazingly sharp,” and a classic 50mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor prime. For lighting he uses Nikon Speedlights and a Profoto D1 flash with 1000W heads. In terms of software he relies on Lightroom and Photoshop used in tandem to achieve the look he wants.
How does Lane Dorsey see his career evolving going forward? Basically he just wants to keep on doing what he’s been doing, and to collaborate with artist, models, actors, musicians, and other creative people to produce innovative and outstanding images and videos. “In my perfect world, one of dreams is to shoot movie posters,” he concludes. “The payoff: driving past a movie theater and being able to say something along the lines of, ‘Yup, that’s my work up there.’ I’ve had a few real world examples of bumping into my work, but never on such a large scale as movie posters.” Basically Dorsey’s immediate goal is to keep supporting himself through his passion for photography. “That’s a good ‘step one’ for the future,” says Dorsey, because gas is getting expensive nowadays. Same with avocados.”
To give ALC readers some in-depth insights on Lane Dorsey’s creative process and the stories behind some of his exceptional images herewith his incisive first-person narratives on five of the best pictures in the accompanying portfolio:
Grandfather:
I shot this picture of my beloved grandfather on the day that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. I needed to encapsulate the feeling of anxiety, worry, stress, and realism of his facing such a dire life crisis. Using one light, I wanted to create a strong image only using him, with no external use of props or other influences. As far as I’m concerned it’s the strongest image I’ve made to date.
Carlos:
I’ve been a fan on YTV (local Toronto kids show network) ever since I wasn’t allowed to stay outside when the streetlights came on-:) One day I found Carlos on Instagram, and had a killer idea. So. I asked him if he’d wanna hang out in studio and shoot some portraits with Hulk Hands, Nerf guns, Kool Aid, and a kid’s bicycle. He was super into it—and the rest is history. That whole shoot taught me the power of just asking: asking someone for something and just throwing yourself out there.
Jack Sparrow:
My good buddy Taylor makes a few bucks each year around Halloween doing a killer Jack Sparrow impression. We thought it would be an interesting idea to create a washed up Jack Sparrow character, and I’m quite pleased with the result.
Josh:
I shot this photograph this past weekend while traveling up north, using just natural light. Josh’s wife Jana was splashing water at camera right to create the effect of motion. The sun had set at around 8:15PM. It was a really simple setup; the only hard part of shooting was making sure not to have a wave splash up into my lens..
Merica:
The concept here is similar to the idea of washed up Jack Sparrow. I had the idea to spend $29.99 on a child’s Halloween costume and have a laugh, and thus washed-up Cap’n Merica was born. By using a few props lying around the studio, I was able to pull off this super beaten down “where are they now” hero look.
