Nat Carson, a second year McGill student, has been accustomed to cradling a camera in his hands since the young age of ten. He started off taking photographs of nature, developing a particular passion for capturing waterfalls, but his style has since evolved to encapsulate live models as well. Currently a marketing major at McGill University, Carson also works with Dulcedo Model Management in Montreal.
Carson recalls how his grandfather gave him his first opportunity to get behind a camera -
He would let me use his camera and I would go around the house taking pictures of everything – I loved it.
Initially, Carson focused his photography on nature. While at first he enjoyed his hikes through the wilderness, he soon realized something was amiss:
I was tired of being alone with nature. I wanted to interact. I was tired of taking pictures with something I couldn’t interact with or couldn’t change.
When asked how his style has evolved since the beginning, Nat responds:
It’s moved from airy, light, and simple to edgier and more dramatic photos. I used to take ‘Tumblr’ photos, the kind girls would reblog, but I’ve moved away from that.
Nat originally photographed in colour, and then made the switch to black and white.
I wasn’t good at black and white in the beginning. I wanted to challenge myself, because the lighting for black and white is much more difficult.
The transition to black and white photography was ultimately appropriate, as it correlated with his submersion into photography in the fashion modelling industry. Last summer, Carson contacted Peggi Lepage, owner of a modelling agency in Toronto. She agreed to have Carson photograph some of her girls, a partnership that launched his career with live models. Ever since then, Nat has been working with modelling agencies in Montreal, Toronto, Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John, consistently expanding his portfolio and his technique.
Photography is taking pictures of what you find beautiful. I want to show people what I’m able to see. The better I get at photography, the more I can show people my vision. Working with models is exhilarating, I enjoyed the feeling of being able to change what was on both sides of the lens.
Carson’s passion, talent and dedication to photography can be measured by the mere fact that his work has already appeared in Italian Vogue, twice.
Carson currently works for Dulcedo Model Management in Montreal. In his first encounter with the modeling agency, Nat describes his experience—
I got grilled. They told me I needed to work hard. There was a lot of heavy critique; it was definitely something I needed to hear.
Now, the agency sends him packages with anywhere from 8 to 15 different faces. As he trifles through the pages, he says how it’s hard to choose one model over the other.
They’re all beautiful—they’re models. There’s never a bad choice, there are just some that, when I see them, I see a possibility for a photo shoot.
When asked about his inspiration for photo shoots, his response was:
I’m not the guy who has a vision going into the shoot. I’m always so bewildered with people who know exactly what they want from the photo shoot. I might have a broad idea, but I need to see the girl, the makeup, the clothes—all of it—in order to see it come together.
Nat’s impromptu manner is one that brings all the elements of the photo shoot together in a way that distinguishes the end product as being more than the sum of its parts.
The modeling agency has its ubiquitous controversies – the ‘skinny standard’. Carson states,
I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a model. The girls I’ve met so far are super mentally strong. All the ones I’ve worked with are healthy; they work out, they eat well. Above all, the most important thing for a model is that she needs to feel comfortable.
Ultimately, the self-taught photographer would love to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Carson plans to combine his marketing major with his passion for photography in order to incorporate certain photographic techniques into the creation of advertisements.
A good ad makes you feel.
When it comes down to it, a photographer’s fundamental objective is to be able to evoke emotions from an image. However, Carson is not unaware about the tough competition ahead of him.
“A few people will make it, and a lot won’t.”
WRITTEN BY SARAH RIAHI
IMAGES BY NAT CARSON
