Mario Ilić

As a teenager, Mario Ilić sent Canon an email asking if the company would sponsor him. More than a decade later, while sitting on a beach, he joined what he thought was a routine call with his Canon contact in Austria and was given the news that he had just become a Canon Ambassador. "I really didn't expect it," he says. "When I was a teenager, becoming part of the Canon family was something I was actively pursuing. Now, all these years later, it happened when I least expected it."

Today, Mario's practice moves between photography and cinematography, although he sees them as distinctly different disciplines. Photography gives him independence; he can simply take a camera and work alone. Filmmaking requires a much larger collaborative machine, from camera assistants and sound to editing and colour grading. "But they constantly overlap," he says. "Photography shaped the way I work as a cinematographer, and when I come back to photography after filmmaking, I see it differently again."

That continual reinvention is central to Mario's approach. Clients increasingly tell him they recognise his work, even when he doesn't immediately recognise a fixed style himself. If there are recurring characteristics, he says, they are movement, emotion, light and a fascination with details that others might overlook. "I try to approach every project with fresh eyes," he says. "It's almost like having a blackboard in my brain and deleting everything I know before I start creating again."

That instinct also means a storyboard is never sacred. If something unexpected happens on set and feels stronger than the original idea, Mario will follow it.

The same sensitivity becomes more complicated when his subject matter is deeply personal. For his master's project, Mario repeatedly photographed residents of a care home in Bosnia. When he encountered a seriously ill relative there, however, he found himself unable to raise the camera. "Photography and art suddenly felt so small compared with the value of life," he recalls.

Mario has no desire to define the next stage of his career too precisely. Photography, cinematography, fashion, music videos, films, exhibitions and books all remain possibilities. "The beauty of art is that you never know what you're going to do next," he says. "I just want to keep learning and keep growing."

How do you know when to stop following the plan and trust your instinct?

"Usually, it happens when the plan simply doesn't work anymore. Imagine you're filming an interview and suddenly something important happens on the other side of the street. You can come back and repeat the interview, but that unexpected moment might happen only once. That's the kind of instinct I try to follow. I always want to have a plan, a storyboard or a direction, but if reality gives me something stronger, I don't want the plan to stop me from seeing it."

When does an image become interesting rather than simply technically beautiful?

"Technically correct images can be the most boring ones. I think a lot of the beauty lies in embracing mistakes and not always following the rules. But you can only really give yourself permission to break those rules once you understand them. You have to master the technical side first. There is a time and place for technical perfection, of course, but for me most of the fun begins when you can move beyond it."

How do you keep developing as an image-maker?

"I think it's about continually schooling your eye. Photography is connected to culture – reading, literature, exhibitions, conversations with other artists, collaborations, cinematography and travelling. But it can also be something as simple as being bored in a city and walking around noticing things. To me, photography could almost be translated as the art of noticing. The moment you stop noticing is the moment you stop developing."

What piece of Canon kit can you not live without, and why?

"I bought a used Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens in Tokyo years ago for about €110, and it has built my career. Around 80% of the cinematography I've shot with Canon cameras has been based around this lens. Technically, it isn't perfect, but it has something I can't really explain – a particular taste or character. Camera operators who have worked with me have ended up buying the same lens because they felt it too."

What else could we discover in your kitbag that helps you elevate your work?

"I usually travel with an old handycam – one of those 'dad cams' from the early 2000s. It has that homemade-video quality that you immediately recognise. I like combining that look with footage from high-end Canon cinema cameras. I enjoy having both extremes available rather than everything looking perfectly polished and consistent."

"Technical competence is a floor, not a ceiling."

Website: marioilic.com

Instagram: @mahreyoilic