brussels Jun 2011

C'est Chic is a Brussels-based photography, styling and make-up agency. Created ten years ago, the company is directed by Belinda Cordier and represents artists in both Brussels and Paris.

Visit the website for more information.

Considered Belgium's leading photographers' agency, Claudia Trucco represents a selection of professional photographers specialised in fashion and advertising. Established 14 years ago, the agency has gained a significant position in the international market by focusing on fashion, beauty, landscape, car and food photography.

Recent advertising productions include the Van Marcke campaign shot by Kurt Stallaert, and Decathlon’s sports campaign shot by Peter De Mulder in New Zealand.

This spring, the Belgian fashion press featured two cover stories shot by Claudia Trucco’s photographers: Weekend Le Vif’s May issue presented a colourful fashion editorial by Annabel Sougné, while Lalo Gonzalez shot the special June edition of Belgian Elle dedicated to the student creations from La Cambre Fashion School.

The agency also provides full stress-free production support for its photographers and clients. Visit the website to see more images and to sign-up for the agency's newsletter.

Initials LA is a full service production and photography agency based in Antwerp. The company prides itself in representing some of the best photographers in Belgium.

With a production team committed to delivering only the highest quality results, Initials LA closely manages pre- production and provides detailed budgeting and open communication from conception to completion.

The agency specialises in providing production assistance for foreign companies wishing to shoot in Belgium, assembling expert teams to handle everything from locating the hottest spots to finding the best casting agencies while ensuring clients have all their requirements met.

Check the blog and visit the website for more information.

IC-UC is an Antwerp-based photo production company with a clear focus on advertising and fashion. Creativity in this high-end industry is key, with the company also offering services for catalogue and product photography.

IC-UC approaches clients' concepts as individual projects, providing a full service centred around its core business of photography and retouching. Services include budget and project management, castings, bookings, styling, hair and make-up, hotel booking, catering and equipment.

The company has in-house photographers and a retouching expert. In addition, IC-UC can always rely on a network of professional freelancers.

TRS Brussels is a rapidly growing commercial production company in Belgium, currently quoted as a Top 5 shop according to industry papers.

TRS has a solid roster of local talent mixed with exclusive talents from Canada, the UK, Sweden, Holland and the USA. The company's international flair and network has brought great jobs for brands such as Volkswagen, Forum Nucléaire, Coke Light, AXA, Nescafé, Samsung and plenty more.

As an award winning-company, TRS is a regular winner at festivals such as NY Festivals and Eurobest: in 2010 TRS went home with a Gold Eurobest and some Silvers, while 2011 started great with a handful of NYF awards.

"TRS is not your average traditional production shop. We advocate creativity, innovation and technology. Call it hybrid, but above all creative."

Visit the website for more information.

"You don’t have to be nuts to make special effects, but it certainly helps!"

Benuts is a studio specialising in animation, visual effects and motion design. Created by Victor Studio, Wizz and Digital District, Benuts is the result of internationally recognised Franco-Belgian skill, talent and expertise, ready to respond to its clients' needs in all areas of visual effects for advertising and feature film.

As a creative partner across every type of project and idea, BenutsTM provides a team built from the best talent in every skill area, offering fresh ideas at every stage of production with a workflow suited to clients' individual needs.

For feature film, BenutsTM is eligible for Wallimage and Bruxellimage, Communauté Française, Go West Invest (own Tax Shelter fund) and Belgian Tax Shelter.

Darlings is a young and dynamic production company specialising in producing commercials for television and Internet campaigns. It also represents a wide range of talented directors.

Producing high-cost as well as low-budget movies, corporate films and all types of audiovisual projects, Darlings is extremely flexible thanks to its multi-talented team and light structure. The company handles much of the production process in-house, including casting, location scouting and styling.

Visit the website for more information.

At the heart of Antwerp’s up-and-coming Noord neighbourhood, the spacious and charming Black and Light studio is housed in an old bronze foundry. The foundry was recently completely rebuilt respecting the architectural vernacular of the industrial building and with exceptional consideration for the needs of photography and video production.

The homely feel of the studios and the considerable attention to comfort is guaranteed to  surprise. Direct access makes loading and unloading easy, while the 250 m² studio can be divided into three multifunctional spaces surrounded by charming garden views. Further assets include a bathroom, modular fitting rooms, an in-house props workshop and underground parking.

Photographers can rent Hasselblad or Canon backs, lenses and lighting, as well as a wide range of backgrounds and much more. The multifunctional space works equally for large car shoots and special events alike, and can even accommodate workshops and seminars.

Since graduating with a Masters in Photography from Antwerp’s KdG College in 1998, award-winning portrait and fashion photographer Thomas Vanhaute has been working as a regular contributor to major fashion and lifestyle magazines across Belgium, including Feeling, Elle, Vitaya, Flair, Libelle, Sabato and De Morgen Magazine.

His particularly advanced lighting skills, combined with a true understanding of how to capture people at their very best, make Thomas' work respected and desired across the Belgian editorial and creative industries. He strongly believes that blending professional dedication with a good sense of humour is what makes demanding assignments pleasing and satisfying for both client and photographer.

Besides his editorial work, Thomas also shoots commercial and advertising assignments for major advertising agencies, including BBDO, Famous, Duval Guillaume, LDV United and CHOCO, as well as for numerous clients including Belgacom, InBev, Chrysler, Flemish Government, Puratos and NUON.

After modelling for 12 years, travelling around the world and working with some of the greatest photographers, in 2007 Ambre Frisque decided to change sides and move behind the camera.

She is now finally living her passion and sharing with all her clients her feelings about inner and outer beauty.

Well-supported and knowing all the right people to work with, Ambre only has to ensure her clients have a great experience because she is confident they will leave with the pictures they need.

Visit the website for more details.

Duval Guillaume is an idea-centric communications agency employing 140, people with offices in Antwerp and Brussels.

"Consumers don’t think above, below or online. Consumers think brand, whatever the medium or the message. We blow the line."

The creative process at Duval Guillaume is driven by brand teams. There are no departments, with each brand team led by a project manager and clients defining the goals of the project.

The first medium for any brand message is digital. The company believes strong brands - big or small - have the power to be their own medium.com.

Services include advertising, corporate design, rebranding, HR communication, B2B communication, direct marketing, digital and interactive marketing, PR services, branded magazines and events.

Famous is the largest independent agency in Belgium. Originally named LG&F Group - a communications group with four agencies: LG&F (advertising), I Do (1-to-1), Snow (online), and Pride (PR) - and founded in 1997 by Luc Libens, Christophe Ghewy and Marc Fauconnier, the company consolidated in 2008 as Famous: one fully integrated agency with a vision and organisation centered around brands and clients.

Tim&Joeri - Belgium's most renowned creatives who previously worked at LG&F - rejoined the company in the spring of 2009. Together with Christophe Ghewy, they form the creative direction behind Famous.

Clients include: Electrabel, Proximus, Jupiler, Stella Artois, Bacardi, William Lawson's, Eristoff, Chaudfontaine, Hyundai, VT4, Croky, Vandemoortele and Klara.