portraiture & celebrity photography Nov 2018

Ryan Carville is a global image maker with a passion for creating with light, currently living in Zurich, Switzerland. After obtaining his BFA in Photographic and Digital Imaging from Texas State University, he moved to NYC in 2007 with two suitcases and a camera. His plan was to learn every aspect of what made a professional photo shoot run smoothly and to own a successful commercial studio.

Ryan began by assisting, digital-editing, lighting consulting, prop styling, studio managing and production assisting. Today, he is an established, experienced, commercial photographer with a vast list of well known clients. He knows that to make high quality, on brand and beautiful images it takes both dedication and team work. He builds lasting relationships with his clients who continue to hire him because they trust that with his experience he will turn their visions into a reality.

He looks forward to making a connection and working with you!

Charles Howells is a rare photographer who is gifted both technically and as an artist behind the lens. He is especially passionate about the whole creative process. He specialises in everything from generating ideas, developing technical solutions and then perfecting his stunning images in post-production.

Clients include Coca-Cola, Sony, Samsung, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mini, Greenpeace, Vodafone, Johnson & Johnson, Karen Walker, Unilever, Universal, Panasonic, Nikon, L’Oréal and M.A.C.

Cheryl Clegg creates a visual story with her portraits and lifestyle work.  She has 25 plus years in the Boston area working with advertising agencies, corporations and fellow creators.

She is equally comfortable photographing in studio or on location and doing whatever it takes to get the perfect shot and tell the story of her subjects. Her work is fueled by her passion to create images that have a story to tell.

View more of Cheryl’s work and her on going series from Haiti, Downeast, Maine, Sue’s Fight to Breathe and her portrait portfolios at her website.

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 Barneys New York and The CW Network.

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.

Dane Gregory Meyer is a West Coast photographer based in the Seattle-Tacoma, WA area. He has been shooting commercially since 1988.

His work has focused on interiors, architecture and people. He has served many leading businesses, organisations, hospitals, banks, architects, designers, developers, contractors, artisans, artists, publications, and ad agencies. His work has often resulted in both regional and national awards for his clients.

Simplicity is a hallmark of both Dane’s work and his work methods. His naturalistic style eschews the fussy, the trendy, instead embracing a “less is better” philosophy that seeks to reveal story and depth.

He has been largely influenced by the greats—Ruth Bernhard, Brett Weston, Ansel Adams, and Imogene Cunningham. His business, DG Studio, holds a private collection of photographs by each of these artists. Dane has also studied with Ruth Bernhardt, Judy Dater and others.

Dane also shoots fine-arts images and is an active part of the local visual arts community. In 1992 he took an exhibit of Pacific Northwest fine arts photography to Vladivostok, Russia, and hosted an exchange exhibit in Tacoma. Vladivostok had been closed to both Russian and foreign visitors for many decades, and the exhibit was part of the celebration of its opening.

Emily Assiran is an internationally published, award-winning photographer based out of Brooklyn, NY. She specialises in portraiture and interiors.

Growing up in Philadelphia, Emily graduated with a BFA in photography from Tyler School of Art. This passion brought her to New York City in pursuit of her career. She has since photographed many recognisable talents and great personalities.

Emily’s friendly demeanor and ability to work under pressure has served as an asset to many clients, enabling her to work with many different kinds of subjects. Whether celebrities, cowboys, or CEOs of major corporations, Emily's love of meeting new people and telling their stories comes through in every shot.

Recently, Emily and her team had a blast spending the day with Milestone Retirement and a group of their residents to create their new senior care campaign. Her other clients include Variety, Essence Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Bustle, Elite Daily, Backstage Magazine, Vanity Fair Italia, Brigitte Woman, Man Repeller, Grand Central Publishing, NKF, and Capital Health Group.

Check out her Instagram or website to see more new work.

Eric Garcia-March is an award-winning photographer based in New York City. For the past 15 years, he has been focusing on producing portraits for illustrative luxury brands and magazines. His expert lighting and storytelling approach are sought after by clients ranging from Swarovski, Austrian Airlines, Ogilvy, BBDO and Hewlett Packard.

This year his shots of top model Ajak Deng were published online in Vogue Magazine.

Other recent endeavors have included co-founding a company named Shutter Bootcamp, which specializes in photography workshops.

Tokyo-based photographer Eric Micotto specialises in automotive photography along with commercial and editorial portraiture.

Eric worked in New York City for nearly a decade before moving base to Tokyo. He draws on his experience shooting around the world, creating an aesthetic that is memorable and stands out from the crowd.

In 2017, his automotive work included global catalogues, web campaigns and lifestyle photography for clients including Lexus, BMW, Mazda, Mini and Ferrari.

His portraiture work also attracts a wide range of clients, from commercials and advertisements to editorial work. In 2017, Eric captured over 50 portraits for GQ Japan alone - ranging from celebrities to fashion designers to everyday people.

Henrik Knudsen is an award-winning photographer who was born in Denmark and studied computer science and mathematics before graduating from art college and relocating to London. Henrik’s emotive use of light is inspired by his interest in film and cinema. He likes mixing natural and artificial light, always with the aim of telling stories of people and their environment.

His most recent project - shooting the high profile campaign for the launch of series 11 of the BBC's 'Dr Who,' featuring the first female incarnation of the lead character, Jodie Whittaker.

Henrik’s client list include Canon, Samsung, Bombay Sapphire, Virgin HMI, BT, McDonald’s and HSBC as well as magazines such as The Smithsonian, Elle Decoration, Der Spiegel and Destinations.

He has also shot many charity campaigns and projects for various UK Government departments. Henrik has won numerous awards over the years including Association of Photographers, PDN, American Photography, Art Director’s Club and Campaign.

Born in Mauritius, Ian and Erick found their passion for photography around the water and have since travelled across the world capturing amazing lifestyle, portraiture and action sport photographs.

Since moving to Australia the pair have taken to the surfing industry and have been senior photographers for Tracks Magazine for 15 years. With their vast experience locally and abroad, they know what it takes to get the shots in a high pressure environment.

With their love for the craft they experiment with all sorts of cameras and lenses to get the job done properly. From large format cameras to water housing and 600mm lenses - all in the quest for impeccable images.

Ian and Erick love taking photographs of the youth culture, the cool people and the people with character. As Ian describes it, “A great picture is a great team of people working together.” Their photos are all about great composition and clever lighting.

Clients include The Works, M&C Saatchi, Host, JWT, Cummins & Partners and others. They have worked on ad campaigns including Wild Turkey, Bolle Sunglasses, Sky Vodka, RAC, Red Bull, Decathlon, Rip Curl, Bankwest, Lululemon, Shell, Hurley and Woodside. Their photos have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Free Sport (France), Action Asia, Tiger Airways Magazine and The Wall Street Journal, to name a few.

Jan Northoff is an international photographer and director based in Hamburg.

When he first got his hands on a camera, Jan was immediately hooked on photography. At the age of 10, he entered a photography contest for adults with an old Rangefinder camera of his father - and won first prize! From that moment on, his destination was decided.

Since 2001, Jan has been working as a freelance photographer with a special focus on people and lifestyle, fashion and portraiture, and regularly delivers campaigns for advertising agencies and corporate enterprises.

A few years ago, he started producing image films as a producer and director, combining photography and moving images.

After his creative teenage years, Jens van der Velde received his degree in Economics and started working and travelling around the world for over a year. He went completely bankrupt by buying a semi-pro camera, however this turned out to be a life-changing choice.

Photography pulled on him harder than launching a career in international business, and this is what he had been working on since his backpacking adventure. He moved close to Amsterdam and has since concentrated on photography and film in music, fashion and portraiture.

Clients include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Ásgeir, Karl Lagerfeld, Ben Howard, Q Factory and Into The Great Wide Open. His reputation has grown beyond the Dutch borders with his platinum-quality photos capturing timeless and intimate moments.

Jonathan Bielaski’s love of craftsmanship and people can be seen through his work. He is currently working on a short form doc series called 'Crafted' and it is Jonathan’s passion to shoot people who love what they do and are able to make a career out of their passion - much like what he has been able to do with his photography and video work.

Besides this project, he has had the opportunity to work with commercial clients from across the globe, meeting incredible people, seeing amazing places, and producing beautiful work for them.

Keep an eye out for the upcoming series and be sure to check out his Instagram account to view current projects.

"My name is Lucian McAfee and I am a commercial still and motion photographer and director who adores people. I love collaboration, technical endeavors, and can uncover beauty in anything.

Working alone has so many rewards, but it's exciting to assemble a team of outstanding people with diverse backgrounds to accomplish what none of us could do alone.

My commercial photography practice draws upon a long background in advertising and acting. I put forth great effort into the planning and preparation for a project so that when the camera is out of the bag, we may freely harness spontaneity and the inevitable magic of the moment.

Let’s make big plans, have a great time, and wrap with images better than we imagined, it’s so much fun!

Clients include ESPN, AT&T, Speed Stick, Bic Razors, Patron and Weber, among others."

Marko Geber is a daily life photographer driven by capturing emotions and treasuring them forever through his photos.

His family is his biggest inspiration and motivation.

As a former model, he fell in love with the camera and this love is still very passionate!

Michael Grecco's experience in photojournalism allowed him to build a strong foundation in photography, especially with the exposure to working in a variety of uncontrolled shooting environments.

After years of photojournalism experience, he began to develop a passion for portrait photography. He wanted to see his work and creativity to the next level within an environment where shooting elements were more controllable. This is ultimately what led him to take the leap from the Boston to LA to start his journey as a celebrity portrait photographer.

Now, Michael travels around the world to photograph professional actors, fashion and automotive clients and to work with agencies in need of his creative approach to professional photography.

Visit his website to learn more about Michael and see some of his latest work.

Regardless of whether he is shooting lifestyle, people or fashion photography or they're celebrities, models or real people in front of his lens, Michael Heinsen's interest is always in personality; the character and the situations in which his subjects find themselves.

Values like credibility, authenticity and uniqueness lead Michael's search for the special moment. In this sense, portraiture is his favourite discipline.

His interest in people, his way of working and his sensitive lighting make it easy for the portrayed to feel comfortable.

Michael is based in Hamburg, Berlin and Mallorca and loves to work all over the world.

Michael Weschler started doing portraits of his friends with a Kodak Instamatic camera at the age of seven. He has since gone on to study at Cal State University, eventually shooting for The New York Times for over a decade.

Known for capturing the detail, personality, and "decisive moment" that makes a photograph unforgettable, Michael is highly sought after to collaborate with many talented creative teams. His portrait work includes notable celebrities Deepak Chopra, Richard Gere, Liam Neeson, Donatella Versace, Liev Schreiber, Don Cheadle, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, to name a few.

His editorial work has run in magazines such as GQ, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Oprah, Allure, Newsweek, Men's Health, Dwell, Food & Wine and many more. He has worked collaboratively on many books and his pictures have been included in photography textbooks, most notably, 'Photography in Focus'.

Michael's portrait and lifestyle work has also graced over 20 covers of magazines such as U.S. News & World Report. Recent ad campaigns include Nestlé, Johnson & Johnson, Marriot, Bank of America, National Car Rental, and more. His personal work has been exhibited in art galleries and museums from LA to NY to Paris, and he is a former national board member of the ASMP - American Society of Media Photographers.

In the age of Photoshop, Mitchell Haaseth's clients are often surprised that his final images need little to no retouching. His secret lies in his photographic style and lighting skills that allow him to create images that match current trends and styles without relying on software.

A superb collaborator, Mitchell is a creative influence while he maintains the needs of the Art Director and client. Drawing on a broad range of experience from shooting celebrities, on figure models and character-driven portraits in studio or on location, Mitchell is also known for balancing tight time constraints and critically consistent workflows with a fun environment that everyone enjoys.

Some of Mitchell's clients include ABC, Disney, NBC Sports, Freeform NBC, Universal, Comcast, Oxygen, Paramount, Hallmark, Warner Brothers, BLT, Sony, Twenty First Century Fox, Buster Inc., and Amazon Studios.

Patrick Desgraupes is a French fine art and commercial photographer living in Provence, in the south of France. His books of landscapes, shot with a 4x5 inch camera, are published in France (Editions de la Martinière), the US (Abrams), and across seven European countries (Abrams, Knesebeck, Ippocampo, and Edda).

Patrick has worked in tourism for major French tour operators such as Comptoir d'Islande and Voyageurs du Monde group, as well as for Icelandair Company in Iceland, for the National Parks of France, and for the French Ministry of Ecology.

He shoots still life (mainly food and wine), landscape and portraits for prestigious wineries, craftsmen, chefs, 'Meilleur Ouvrier de France', musicians, sculptors, fashion designers, actors, and many more.

Patrick's commercial and fine art work won many awards in 2017 and 2018 - three Gold, one Silver, one Bronze and 37 'Honorable Mentions' in the most prestigious international photographic competitions in London, Paris, NYC and Los Angeles.

Paul Harries is an internationally renowned photographer based in London, best known for - but not restricted to - music photography.

With more than 20 years' experience, Paul has the knowledge, talent and passion to deliver exceptional photography required of any brief. A respected freelancer, Paul’s work takes him all over the world – his broad ranging portfolio includes such luminaries as Jared Leto, Tinie Tempah, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Dua Lipa, Craig David, Metallica and Nile Rodgers, to name just a few.

Working with a range of lighting techniques to best suit ever-changing conditions, Paul excels whether shooting on location, in a studio or with a digital artist for conceptual and CGI projects. He offers a relaxed and friendly approach, works quickly and with ease.

Paul’s clients include Sony Music, Decca Records, Universal Music, Music Week, Kerrang!, Mojo, Pride Of Britain, Abbey Road Studios and Alternative Press.

Paul has exhibited his photographs in prestigious galleries in London, Manchester and Los Angeles.

René van Bakel has been a passionate storytelling photographer since the very start of his professional career some 20 years ago. He has worked in more than 70 countries and his images have been published in major global media outlets like National Geographic, The New York Times, Le Figaro, Vogue, and many more.

René also produces commercial and editorial assignments. His vast experience enables him to help clients visualise their story to best show the audience what matters; the company or publication itself.

His specialities include portraits, architecture, hotel and hospitality, food, product, travel, art, culture, lifestyle and car photography.

Clients include Superfund, Vapiano, ÖBB, AIT, Ö-Post AG, Agrana, Magna Steyr, FFG, BMVIT, Rolex, Austrian Airlines, Spanish Riding School Vienna, TNT, DHL, NÖM, ÖBF, Merkur, Stiegl, Gösser, Nike, VDL Group and Philips Medical Systems.

Sally Peterson is an award-winning American portrait photographer based in Los Angeles. Her work is both powerful and delicate, revealing the emotion, beauty and dignity in her subjects. She has worked with subjects ranging from Oscar-winning actor Kirk Douglas, to cutting-edge fashion brands, to her work with entrepreneurs and up and coming business, with whom she is an integral part of inserting humanity and putting a face to their brands and businesses.

Sally is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design and her photographs have been featured in numerous magazines including Time, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Surface Magazine.

Her work has also been shown in galleries throughout California.

Simon Buck specialises in editorial and lifestyle portraiture for worldwide publications and brands. Ranging from single feature portraits of celebrities to wider storytelling brand campaigns, Simon has captured a wide variety of subjects and locations across the world.

Clients include the BBC, LinkedIn, The Huffington Post, Penguin Random House, Bloomsbury, Harper Collins, Scandinavian Airlines, Rolling Stone, the RNLI, Intersport, Festival Republic, Kier and more.

Simon was recently interviewed by Profoto for their Inspiration Stories blog.

Travis Shinn is a celebrity and portrait photographer who was born and raised in Los Angeles.

His photography includes a wide range of artists and has been featured on multiple covers of Rolling Stone, Revolver, Classic Rock, XXL, in numerous publications, including GQ and Interview, and on album packaging from Morrissey to Diddy to Tool, earning a Grammy recognition for 2006 for “Best Recording Package.”

Travis lives and loves in Northeast Los Angeles with his wife, Robyn and their daughter, Scout.

Based in Hamburg, celebrity and business portrait photographer Wolfgang Wilde started as a freelance photographer in 1993 with focus on celebrities.

Over the years, he has taken pictures of many of Germany's most famous actors, sportsmen, entertainers and politicians, from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Claudia Schiffer, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katarina Witt, Tokio Hotel, Helene Fischer, Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko, Ai Weiwei and Jogi Löw.

He is renowned in the business for transferring good ideas into stunning visuals, and celebrities love to work with him.

Wolfgang also specialises in business portraits. He has worked for Siemens AG (Joe Kayser President and Executive Officer), Daimler AG (Dieter Zetsche, CEO), Mercedes- Benz (Ulf M. Schneider, CEO) Fresenius AG, Otto Group (Michael Otto, CEO), and RyanAir (Michael O`Leary, CEO), to name but a few.