Meet Garrett & Michelle | Owners of Iron Image Productions | Photographer & Photo Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Garrett & Michelle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Garrett & Michelle, is there a quote or affirmation that’s meaningful to you?
“Make Good Art,” by Neil Gaiman.

The full quote is nuanced and filled with a touch of the humor that Gaiman is known for, but this snippet is essentially the bones of the theme. We approach every project with the core of this idea in mind. Garrett takes considerable time to set up our lighting and compositions, adjusting settings on his camera between test shots, with as much care as I take in editing each photo to get that perfect color and tone. Every photo we create is an opportunity to not only capture a moment, but to make good art, to reveal the beauty of these brief, fleeting moments.

There is a fundamental difference between a photo and a piece of artwork. A photo is versatile, and serves a purpose; you can use a photo for articles, save it on your phone, use it for marketing materials or post it to social media. Photos certainly have their place.

Art is something you cherish, something you would print and hang on your wall to appreciate. It makes you feel something and it tells a story. When we have the opportunity to make art, that is a good day for us.

With everything that has happened over the past couple years on a global scale, it’s more important than ever to seize these moments of light where we can. You can’t have light without dark, both are equally important when creating strong compositions, and the same is true of life. The little bright patches of light and darkened shadows work together to create the full composition of our lives.

Pulling the beauty from the sorrow, immortalizing these moments and claiming them – that is what our photography is all about.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Garrett and I are the owners of Iron Image Productions, a photography business in Littleton, Colorado. Photography was a natural avenue for both of us to pursue professionally, with my extensive background in art and design and Garrett’s love of shooting photos on all of our adventures. We are both natives of Colorado, so exploring our big backyard of this beautiful state has been a core activity we enjoy doing, and we always take an abundance of photos, so it was a natural step for us.

A few years ago, we were capturing our annual fall foliage pictures on Keebler Pass and Garrett casually mentioned, “Hey, you know we could do this professionally, right?” The minute we got home, we invested in our first full frame mirrorless camera set up and pro glass, and it took off from there.

Garrett is our main photographer, and learned early on that programmed settings in the camera can only offer so much information, and immediately wanted to push the boundaries of what our equipment could actually do. He is a bit of a tech nerd, and has done an extensive deep dive on what every setting in our camera does. During our shoots, he dials in on all the settings, instead of just a select few, to get a hand crafted piece of art with each shot. His shooting techniques give me a great foundation to work with in the editing phase, as I have a fantastic amount of information from the files to work with.

Most photography businesses have a niche that they focus on, and in that regard I would say we are different, as we don’t restrict ourselves to one focus. We love tackling creative projects of all kinds, experimenting with techniques and meeting new people from all backgrounds. We capture everything from landscapes, travel, nature, wildlife, senior sessions, family sessions, fashion, business, food, engagements, celebrations and even pets.

What we bring to the table is an artist’s eye – we consider aspects like composition, color theory, tone, contrast, light and shadow in each edited piece and we take our time. We love bringing our client’s creative visions to life and capturing their special moments that they can treasure for a lifetime.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Eats & Drinks

Grande Station in Downtown Littleton for a fantastic reuben, live music and drinks
Taco Tuesday & margaritas at Palenque in Downtown Littleton
Rolling Smoke BBQ – they smoke all their own meat right outside the doors
Angelos Taverna – delicious Italian and a selection of wines from their winery next door
Appetizers & beer tasting at Breckenridge Brewery off Sante Fe

Things to Do

Shop peeping in Downtown Littleton
Paddle Boarding at Chatfield State Park
Bike ride along the High Line Canal
Reinke Brothers is a must see for a fun unusual shop
Grab a coffee at Dirt Coffee Bar

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many fantastic mentors, instructors and professionals we have met along our journey that deserve recognition.

I’ve had amazing instructors throughout the years, from my high school art teacher Mark McPherson who initially inspired me to pursue art professionally, to the many professors at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design who helped build the invaluable skill sets that I’m perfecting today. My instructors must have left a strong impression, as 10 years later, I’m an instructor myself at the college, sharing my knowledge with the next group of amazing up and coming artists.

Garrett had a unique upbringing, where he jokes he spent most of his time on the back of a horse, oftentimes in the deep forests of the Rocky Mountains, where his family would pack in for several weeks at a time and just get lost for a while. When traveling on horseback, you are going at a slower pace; it allows you to appreciate the beauty, to take your time and enjoy the journey itself. He attributes his love of traveling and capturing unique sights to his mother and father, as well as their close family friends and community who instilled this love of adventure and “getting lost” at an early age.

Website: www.ironimageproductions.com

Instagram: ironimageproductions

Facebook: @ironimageproductions

Image Credits
Iron Image Productions