portraiture & celebrity photography Jul 2018

Antonis Engrafou is a portrait and commercial photographer based in Limassol, Cyprus. His aesthetic of work is influenced by the old masters of art and this is his approach to his entire body of work - commercial and portraiture.

His storytelling approach shows emotions, character and stories through the people he photographs: “When I take a picture I want the viewer to feel a connection with the person I'm photographing and transfer the feelings and emotions to them”. His storytelling technique creates unique lighting and color in the photo shoot to achieve the desired outcome, “a fine art approach to subjects”.

In the past few years he has worked for numerous projects, both for clients and personal. His work has been seen in magazines, billboards and books. He has been featured in numerous blogs, awarded in prestigious competitions and Antonis was voted by Luerzer’s Archive in 2011 as one of the 200 best Ad Photographers.

Beat Mumenthaler is a Swiss-based portrait photographer whose expressive images have earned him international renown.

His sensitivity and ability allow him to produce authentic portraits, images that convey the impression of being able to acquire a greater insight into a life. Beat captures the essence; in an uncomplicated form, often in black and white, reduced to the essential.

He works in portraiture, advertising and art and his photographs feature in exhibitions, books, presentations and workshops. His work has won numerous international awards.

Christopher Fragapane is a portrait and commercial photographer. A New Yorker transplanted to sunny Los Angeles, he has worked for clients from a wide range of industries including entertainment, fashion, hospitality and technology, to name a few.

Recent clients include Universal Pictures and Mount Gay Rum.

Whether it’s a shoot with celebrity talent or a farmer for a local grocery store, Christopher approaches every project with the same enthusiasm and professionalism. From pre-production logistics to execution, he works incredibly hard to bring the client’s unique vision to life while ensuring everyone has a great time.

With two decades of experience, Christopher has amassed an experienced and trustworthy network of professionals to draw from to put together an amazing team that will meet the requirements of any project.

Based in Portland, Oregon, editorial and commercial photographer, Dina Avila has shot for publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Virgin Australia and Vogue Japan. Her commercial client list includes American Express, Nike, Hestan Commercial and many others.

Dina brings a focused yet warm energy to her sets, helping her subjects feel at ease. She is an enthusiastic collaborator and loves melding her ideas with those of her clients.

While Dina’s focus is food, lifestyle and interiors, she loves to travel while exploring local culture with her camera, and plans to also be based in the UK. Dina has a degree in Photo-communications from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas and has won the James Beard Award for Visual Storytelling.

Irwin Wong is a corporate, editorial and commercial photographer based in Tokyo, Japan. He has recently completed high profile campaigns for Amazon and Rotary International, and is currently working on a book about Japan's varied and niche subcultures.

His editorial clients include names such as The Washington Post, Forbes, Men's Journal, Top Gear Magazine and Car Design News.

In between jobs he devotes his time to documenting rare and declining Japanese traditional crafts in the far reaches of the country.

"When I was young, my sister taught me how to use her SLR camera, and I was instantly hooked. I loved the light meter moving as I changed aperture or shutter-speed. I loved the feel of cranking film through the camera and the sound of the shutter opening and closing.

Now I make lifestyle work, portraits, and all kinds of other pictures and moving pictures for clients all over the world. Every picture is a chance for the subject, audience, client, and myself to relate. That is my favorite part of doing this work.

When I am not making pictures, I am hanging out with my brilliant wife. We play cribbage, talk about the world, go for walks, make great food, work on our garden, and play with our two crazy cats. I also love running and biking and I still skate.

Thanks for making the time to look at my work. I enjoy any chance I get to talk to folks about this incredible work that we make. I am really lucky to have worked with such great collaborators, and I would love to work with you!"

Clients include: Target, Belize Tourism, Politico, VSA, mono, Outside Magazine, Arnold Worldwide, US Bank, United Health Care, Colle + McVoy, BMO Harris, Century Link, OLSON, Carmichael Lynch, Sappi Fine Paper, Schells Brewing, Metropolis Magazine and Major League Baseball.

Jonathan Bielaski is a Toronto-based environmental portrait photographer. Environmental portraiture captures the essence of a subject in its natural habitat. Every one of Jonathan Bielaski’s photos tells a story of a person’s journey.

The focus is greater than the person – it’s the reality of who they are at this time in their life – the background reflecting their personality and vice versa.

Whether working with pro athletes, celebrities, craftsmen, or someone at the very top of their field, Jonathan has the ability to create visual content the will stand the test of time.

This feature is a boxing personal project that was recently done: "Sometimes as a photographer you get wrapped up in all the work and you have to take a step back and do a creative so you don’t lose the reason why you became a photographer."

Always focused on conquering the immediate task at hand, whether as a spotlighted young musician or a risk-taking, technical street skateboarder, Matt Hawthorne would be found in his young adulthood pushing the limits to perfecting his skill.

Eventually, Matt moved his concentration from making images his sponsors sought of him to honing his methods of capturing fast paced action images - by shooting his friends skating.

He found a love for the art form, and his unique style with polished imagery quickly drew attention, projecting him into the start of a successful career. Shooting advertising campaigns now for over 10 years, Matt has developed an incredible crew.

Matt Hawthorne Productions has provided advertising campaigns for Gatorade, Target, Adidas, New Balance, Asics, Fila, Gold’s Gym, FedEx, and JCPenney, among many others.

Matt is known for his unique photographic style, ranging from photo journalistic sports to highly stylised advertising. His awards include Lürzer's Archive '200 Best Photographers Worldwide' and Communication Arts Photo Annual.

Michael Grecco is an award-winning, internationally renowned director and photographer of celebrity portraits, advertising and editorial commissions, private collections and fine art.

On the pulse point of cutting edge technology and innovation, Grecco is a regarded expert and celebrated speaker on creativity, photography and his signature lighting and directorial technique worldwide. As a Hasselblad Master he is a sought after trainer, traveling the globe speaking and leading informative and hands-on workshops.

The 2018 BIPP Photographer of the Year, Michael Wharley, shoots advertising, portrait and editorial work for a broad span of entertainment industry clients, and beyond, from his Central London studio.

His bold, atmospheric pictures balance narrative with visual impact to make a splash advertising film, TV and theatre, while his portraits effortlessly mix drama with a nuanced eye for lighting and colour.

Recent highlights include gritty images of the young cast of rock musical ‘Spring Awakening’, alongside a Game-of-Thrones-themed set for 'Knights of the Rose', and an 80s-inflected group for 'Fame!' Showcasing his lighter, more colourful side, Michael worked closely with Polka Theatre's design team and young models to produce all of their autumn season promotional imagery, and on Metta's Hip Hop-infused 'In the Willows'.

He has also shot a series of environmental working portraits on commission in India, a personal project on cold water swimmers in South London, and a set of working portraits of artists.

As comfortable working with screen printers and swimming pensioners as celebrities like Gemma Arterton or Gugu Mbatha Raw, Michael brings creativity, flexibility, precision and technical skill to each new brief, possessing an easy-going, problem-solving manner. He is an AOP member and Fellow of the BIPP.

Olivier Borgognon defines himself as a portrait and commercial lifestyle photographer. His main audience is the business world, but he also produces work for uprising athletes and fast-growing startups.

Olivers’ clients include international corporations like Louis Vuitton, Mont-Blanc, World Economic Forum, Oc Sport and the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He has also produced work for international organisations such as the UNAIDS, GAIN and UNICEF.

Born of Swiss and British parents, Olivier lives in Switzerland. He loves the sea, the mountains, and sports. His deep knowledge of scuba-diving, mountain biking and skiing has taught him focus, clarity, patience, empathy, respect for the environment and natural human contact which he applies on a daily basis to his craft and work projects.

Ozlem Dinc is a portrait and celebrity photographer with nine years of experience of storytelling and working in various portrait projects, mainly editorial and documentary. She loves to capture the strength and character of her models, creating a story around them. She uses her experience in documentary filming and interviewing to put her models at ease, so that they can release their true, natural selves.

Ozlem Dinc is also the co-founder of Loyka Visual Arts, a documentary production company and works from her own studio in Highbury/London, serving clients from the UK and Turkey. She is available for work in studio or on location. She speaks French, English and Turkish.

Photographer PEROU has shot some of the most iconic names in music, sports, fashion and film.

Based in London, working worldwide, PEROU is a camera eye for hire, a creative director, photographer and director. He most recently shot Wiil-i-am, Jeremy Irons, Ray Winstone, Jourdan Dunn, Lorde and Anthony Joshua to name drop a few.  

He is regularly commissioned to photograph fashion legends and editorial features for Vanity Fair, The Guardian, GQ, Dazed & Confused and Esquire.

Peter Baiamonte wants to tell a story, give a glimpse of a place, show some personality and reveal some meaning behind his images.

His strengths include clean storytelling, rigorous composition, vibrant colours, creative problem solving, and an ability to connect with his subjects, setting them at ease and making their time in front of the camera comfortable. He also excels at assembling an excellent crew, working collaboratively with clients and creating a friendly, happy vibe on set.

Peter’s work includes many styles and disciplines: portraiture, lifestyle, landscape, travel, and sports, among others. He splits his time between New York City and the Massachusetts Berkshires, working regularly with clients in New York and Boston as well as the entirety of New England. He is available to travel worldwide.

Peter's clients include Ernst & Young, Con Edison, Panasonic, Bayer, Harrison and Star, Novartis, Berkshire Magazine, TevaNeuroscience, and Webster Bank.

Sabrina Conforti’s adventure in the world of photography began by attending the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan. Shot after shot, she created a unique style which has helped her to make her way in a predominantly male world.

As a former basketball player and always passionate about sports, she began to photograph athletes and entered the world of rugby in 2008. Known internationally, Sabrina worked for Adidas on Danilo Gallinari’s campaign, for an Italian tour by Jonah Lomu (former All Black), and with Javier Zanetti across a range of shoots.

She is the author of numerous series published in Sportweek and has been following the Italian National Rugby Team for 10 years. Sabrina has also been the official photographer of the Crédit Agricole Italia Group for four years. Her significant portfolio includes cooperation with the Mondadori Group and Discovery Italia.

Sabrina's greatest strength is empathy, which encourages her subjects to open up and bare themselves in front of the lens. She offers an innovative and personal style - in her shots, there is all the elegance and lightness that distinguish her. However, it is reductive to consider her 'only' a photographer: her skills and knowledge allow her to manage all phases of a photoshoot, from creative direction to post-production.

Zurich and Paris-based photographer and film-maker Tristan Paviot’s recent commissions include shoots for Heineken, the French lottery operator FDJ, and the ADP (Paris Airports).

He has worked for well-known newspapers and magazines such as Le Nouvel Obs (France), Globus (Croatia), and Prisma Press. His last series was produced for France TV.

He is also a film-maker specialised in short, vivid videos for the internet and as a video blogger on YouTube.

Willie Petersen is an award-winning commercial photographer based in Denver, Colorado. He worked as an art director in New York City for a decade before transitioning to photography.

Willie has worked for many agencies and magazines and is always looking for the next challenge.

Internationally published fashion and portrait photographer Yoshitaka Kono was born and raised in Japan and is now based in London. With ample experience in the art of B&W darkroom printing, he won an Ilford Black and White Award, but that does not keep him from creating stunning images in colour.

Working closely with PR agencies and music labels for artist promos that have been used across a number of magazines as well as the international press, Yoshi also regularly contributes fashion editorials and celebrity portraits to a range of publications.

His portraits show a perfect combination of vibrancy and authenticity. Yoshi's main goal is to capture his subjects' personality and to let things unfold naturally in front of his camera.