Having completed his photographic studies at the Pretoria Technical College in 1995, Ignus joined Beith Digital – one of South Africa’s largest repro and printing companies – where he literally, threw himself into the deep-end of commercial photography as their in-house photographer. With the vast experience he gained at Beith Digital as the in-house photographer for 3 years and Holland America and Royal Caribbean as senior photographer for 3 years, Ignus ventured out on his own to work on campaigns for some of South Africa’s top advertising agencies. During this time he won numerous Fuji Film Photographic Awards as well as a Loerie Award (South Africa’s highest accolade in advertising and design) for an ad campaign he did for DDB SA. Apart from compiling personal material in many countries across the globe, he has built up an extensive client list which includes Anglo American, De Beers, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Council, Lafarge, MTN, Nedbank, Nestle, Shell, Sprite, Telkom and Unilever as well as recording studios the likes of Gallo, Warner Brothers and Sony Music. Working with the studios proved to be particularly exciting as it gave Ignus the opportunity to work together with musical greats such as Dorothy Masuka, Hugh Masekela and, of course, the late Lucky Dube. With an eye for detail and composition, his solid technical background and winning people skills Ignus has developed a style as diverse as it is original and visually compelling. A strong believer in open communication between himself, his subjects and clients, this aspect remains core to the quality and success of all Ignus’ work. As a strong conceptual thinker he has embraced digital technology but still enjoys the opportunity to work on various formats and different stock, depending on the requirements of each project. And, while his technical knowledge, innovative ideas and professionalism are what enable him to bring any project to life for his clients, it is his experience that gives him the added advantage whether it is in studio or on location, casting artists or shooting famous celebrities. It’s been said that I’m “fanatical” about lighting and “pedantic” about the equipment I use on my shoots.