The 11 Best Fine Art Photographers in Melbourne

Looking for work by the best Melbourne fine art photographers? We’re happy to hear it since that’s exactly what we at Peerspace have for you ahead! Along with providing you access to the best hidden gem venues in Melbourne and beyond, we also pride ourselves on shining a spotlight on the many creatives who call Melbourne home.

Melbourne is the base of some of the most incredibly talented fine art photographers down under. No need to take our word for it — just take a look through the impressive work of the following Melbourne fine art photographers, and see for yourself!

1. Ulrike Perkins

Like many other Melbourne fine art photographers, Ulrike Perkins experiments with techniques and styles. The bulk of her art, however, revolves around simplifying nature, from landscapes to close-ups, “to show just enough, to travel deeper and thus to express its essence, uniqueness and beauty”. However, she’s not afraid to play with her tools to push the creative envelope. In her recent “Woodlands” series, for instance, Ulrike uses movement and camera shake to turn ordinary forest scenes into mesmerizing abstract images.

2. Masa Hoss

Portrait and fine art photographer Masa Hoss creates beautiful, thought-provoking visual art. These are highly conceptual works, usually exploring a theme (e.g. “flow”) or heavy on symbolism (e.g., “the black swan”). Masa’s efforts are as varied as her imagination, from highly creative portraits to studies in shapes and textures, and more. Her symbolic minimalist images, in particular, are incredibly striking and available as fine art prints.

3. Dave Lucas

Understandably, “nude art” photographer Dave Lucas takes most of his pictures indoors, and largely in his studio (but he does venture outdoors on occasion). He also takes boudoir and glamour photos professionally, mixing them all together in his portfolios, making it an adventure to sift through his work and pick out the art pieces.

Especially since besides portraiture, he doesn’t have a set style. Dave incorporates color and black-and-white shots, harsh and edgy lighting, soft focus and airy, dark and moody, bright and colorful, etc. Add the fact he uses the same superb skills throughout. We’ve been pretty good at picking out the fine art images, but that doesn’t matter, really. With his talent, it’s all art.

4. Nicole Eyre

Art isn’t usually associated with sports photography, but Nicole Eyre didn’t get the memo. We’re guessing she figured, why not? Eyre creates highly creative sports-themed portraits, striking images of her subjects and the sports they play and love. These don’t have the usual lifeless backdrops and uninspired sports props.

Think high energy, dramatic contrasts, Madison Avenue advertising level visual effects, and you’re on the mark. Her athletes are mostly youngsters, an extension of her work as a pro-child and family photographer, but there’s really no reason why only kids can get the Nicole sports hero treatment.

5. Elizabeth Schiavello

“When I’m not out on site shooting architecture and interiors, I make art,” says Elizabeth Schiavello. Although her creatively composed and excellent photographs of architecture and interiors arguably are works of art, that just won’t do justice to the images she sets out to create as such. Assuming you can spot them amid her commercial work in her portfolios.

Tip: Beautifully shot people in street scenes, flowers, landscapes … that’s her art, and she does them in thematic groups. Fortunately, it’s much easier to isolate, view, and appreciate her artwork through her regular gallery exhibits. Elizabeth’s photography explores the natural environment, the built environment, and the convergence of the two.

6. Anders McDonald

As a professional photographer who does a lot of portrait-related work, Anders McDonald gets to play around a bit and satiate his creative needs. He shares much of it in the “Flights of Fancy” section of his website. It’s mostly studio work, and you’ll notice there’s a person in each one, regardless of how he likes to creatively experiment with the image. Anders also loves to play with light, but interestingly, usually with only a single light source. In these, he often produces dramatic shadows with intriguing results. Let’s hope he gets a chance to play a lot more. As a side note, 15% of all the sales revenue he makes on his artwork is donated to Oxfam Australia.

7. Jacalyn Mann

Photographing flora isolated and up close is one of fine art photographer Jacalyn Mann’s things. Using plain and solid backgrounds, Jacalyn’s very simple and balanced yet striking compositions are what make her work stand out from others who do similar work. She experiments with focus (e.g., very sharp, fuzzy) and it’s interesting to observe her results. She also likes to explore texture close up. It’s really curious to see how she turns something ordinary, like decaying metal and wood, into compelling images.

8. Matt Irwin

Matt Irwin’s captivating cityscapes and street scenes are what brought us to his website. He likes taking darker scenes and night shots using available light, and tends to produce grittier, starker images with that Gotham feel, regardless of the time of day. His work often shows contrasting visual elements of the modern, 21st-century metropolis. From there, we stumbled across his absolutely gorgeous landscapes. Talk about a really jarring mood and feel shift! It’s almost unbelievable these were all created by the same person.

9. James Smart 

It’s one thing to win the grand prize in a photo contest and have your work appear in a magazine. If that contest happens to be National Geographic’s, that’s a whole different level. Well, landscape and travel photographer James Smart not only managed that, but he also did it only a few years after first picking up photography in 2012.

Full of gorgeous, serene landscape imagery from his travels, James’s landscape work is breathtaking. But what really gets him recognition from NatGeo and many others is his seasonal habit of literally chasing tornadoes in the US to capture jaw-dropping images of “mother nature at her most dangerous”. Now that’s a different level of breathtaking!

10. Steve Scalone

It’s difficult not to get drawn into the artistic photographs of architecture and street scenes that Steve Scalone produces. In fact, they are strangely intimate despite the larger environmental scope you know exists beyond what is pictured. Scalone likes to zoom in on the details, often creating minimalist compositions that, in effect, tell a story.

That he manages to do this with bright, often colorful, and yet clearly simple images is something other Melbourne fine art photographers — any photographer or artist for that matter — should take note of. A heck of a whole lot can be communicated, and beautifully, through nothing but simple.

11. Mark Gray

As if his “traditional” landscape photographs aren’t spectacular enough, check out some of Mark Gray’s work that likely other Melbourne fine art photographers cannot duplicate: aerial landscapes. As its label implies, he shoots these from an airplane, giving us all a mind-blowing view of the land in a way we’ve likely never seen before, and just as likely will never see again.

These amazingly detailed and often surprisingly hyper-colorful images will no doubt be called abstracts by the uninformed, but no, ladies and gentlemen, these are honest-to-goodness real, from up there. Absolutely brilliant work!

Bonus: Tilnak Black and White Fine Art Portraits

The Tilnak fine art photography studio is helmed by Darren and Tracey Tilnak. While Darren is the lead photographer, Tracey is the business manager, and together, they make it easy for Melbournites to enjoy stunning black and white portraiture that goes beyond the usual portrait sitting. As the studio itself explains, “We don’t just make photographs; we make lifestyle image art”. And really, we couldn’t agree more. Their work is exhibition-worthy portraits, typically of families, in crisp black and white that serve to dramatize the people and their relationships. If you’re worried that black and white is too cold, that’s where their work really shines, as they use warm tones to infuse each portrait with life. When you’re looking for fine art portraits to hang on your wall, Tilnak is the place to turn.

Peerspace loves Melbourne fine art photographers

We’re glad you took this journey with us and helped celebrate the top Melbourne fine art photographers. This all begs the question, why is all this incredible photographic talent in Melbourne? If you’re looking for a better answer than, “Maybe it’s the water,” that’s something we can’t help you with. The fact is, they’re there, and even better, we know they are, and their wonderful work is available to us all!

Remember, if you’re a photographer or anyone looking for flexible and creative spaces to book by the hour in Melbourne, be sure to check out Peerspace. You just never know what type of hidden gem space you may uncover, or what it will contribute to your work.

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