fashion & beauty photography May 2013

As a professional photographer for more than 20 years, Ian Abela specialises in fashion and beauty. He has applied his knowledge to numerous advertising campaigns and exports his images all over the world.

Self-taught, Ian has been experimenting with photography since childhood, adding digital retouching to his repertoire to widen his creative field.

Completely autonomous thanks to his Parisian studio and a full range of digital equipment, Ian works on his images from shoot to post production.

Clients include Arena, Enweis, Soleil Sucré, Optic2000, Universal, Swarovski, Bourjois, Versace, Hermès, Une Beauty and Minima.

Alek is a Dutch photographer based in Amsterdam. His work is known for its focus on light and direction of people, which often results in images with cinematic storytelling and glamorous character.

As a devoted and passionate photographer, Alek is always looking for ways to push the envelope and work out great challenges. He loves big sets and always finds creative solutions to honour a clients’ perspective. Working with a wide range of clients, both commercial and editorial, Alek has collaborated with many ad-agencies, fashion brands and magazines. He recently introduced film and video to his portfolio.

Clients include Heineken, Canon, WE-fashion, Converse, Nike, Philips, Bacardi, VW, Ford, Rexona, Bugaboo, Sixty, IKEA, Citroën, Hema, Grolsch, Mars, Twix, Sikkens, Esquire, l’Officiel, JFK, Marie Claire, Linda, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health.

Ales Leon was born in Madrid and his professional beauty and fashion portfolio is among the best in Spain.

• Agencies: Publicis, Tapsa, Young&Rubican, Hyper Young.
• Editorials: L-Ink, Mujer Hoy, Yo Dona, Magazine El Mundo, XL Semanal.
• Advertising: Shiseido, Bulgari, Decleor, Julia, Sephora, Les Cosmetics, Avon Cosmetics.

Andres Hernandez was born in Medellin, Colombia where he took an early interest in the visual arts. His curiosity for photography developed in his childhood home, beginning with a fascination for his father’s camera.

Andres' devotion to photography continued into college where he graduated top of his class with a BA in Advertising from the Art Institute of Medellin. He moved to the United States where he began his career working as a Graphic Web Designer. Working between Washington D.C. and Miami, Andres began developing an excellent reputation not only for his outstanding design and photo retouching skills but also more widely for his personal style and talent as a photographer.

Specialising in photographing people and lifestyle images for advertising and editorial clients, his style is recognised as vibrant, colourful and full of narrative meaning.

Andres currently resides between Miami and New York and continuous to pursue his dreams as he becomes more and more recognised as one of the most rapidly growing leaders in advertising and editorial photography. His work has been featured in art exhibitions, billboards and magazines in the US, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Brazilian-born fashion and beauty photographer Caesar Lima has always had an eye for the creative. As a self proclaimed “non-purist”, his photography calls to mind imagery that sits somewhat outside of the box.

Clients include T-Mobile, Jafra Cosmetics, Sony, Youngblood Cosmetics, Alterna Hair, Sebastian International, Wella, Pioneer, True Religion, Disposable Fame, Invisalign, Alpinestars and Mother of London together with top advertising agencies, national magazines and celebrities.

Caesar has received multiple accolades and awards, including the 2013 One Eye Awards, 2012 PX3 Prix Paris Awards, 2011/2010 Archive '200 Best Ad Photographers, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2006 IPA Awards, 2007 PX3 Paris and 2009 Addy Awards, among others.

Cavallaria is a movie company that brought vanguardist fashion films to Brazil in 2009 and became a major reference of its kind in the country. The idea is to allow consumers to feel the experience that products can offer them - not only the product itself, but the feelings and lifestyle of those who use the them.

Christian Ammann is a 37 year-old fashion photographer and director. After studying photography in Zurich he founded his own company in 1996. Based between London and central Europe, Christian works internationally and has established a name for himself in the fields of fashion and beauty, shooting for prestigious clients in the editorial and advertising sectors.

His vision is gained from an ever-evolving approach to fashion, while his style is elegant, timeless and the use of colour and lighting make his work unique. Christian likes strong images that stand out and span fashion and art.

He has shot campaigns for Wella, Max Factor, Pantene, L'Oréal, Cartier, Tag Heuer, Boss Fragrances, Hugo Boss, UBS, Microsoft, Visa, Credit Suisse, Gillette, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Jalouse and Flair Mondadori.

Christian's directing work has won him awards in New York, London, LA, and elsewhere. Nikon has engaged him to be one of its few chosen ambassadors. Christian loves and lives his work.

Damian Bennett began his photographic career over a decade ago in Sydney. Since then he has gained the knowledge and experience to develop a style of his own and produce work for some of Australia’s most reputable magazines.

Damian Bennett specialises in portraiture, fashion and beauty. His technical knowledge and comfortable rapport he has with his subjects is evident in the quality of the images he produces as he captures a distinct emotion with a polished edge.

He works regularly for clients such as Instyle, Rolling Stone, The Sydney Magazine, Sunday Life, Grazia, Harper's Bazaar, Men’s Health and The Australian Women’s Weekly.

His list of portraits is rapidly growing and consists of some of Australia’s most acclaimed actors and sports personalities including Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Mark Webber and Harry Kewell.

Damian is represented by The Names Agency.

Dean Alexander shoots for commercial and editorial clients worldwide. Assignments have taken him to over 50 countries.

Dean's imagery has been recognised in Luerzer's Archive '200 Top Advertising Photographers Worldwide', Communication Arts Photo Annual, Graphis Photo Annual '100 Top in America', and Prix de la Photographie Paris, among others.

For more information, please visit his website

Derek Van Oss is a freelance photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. His target photographic interest is people.

"I'm endlessly fascinated by human behaviour and psychology, how we act and react, why we do the things we do, what motivates us and what inspires us to be who we are. That is what I love to explore with photography."

Additionally, Derek works regularly in the motion picture and film industry in Hollywood as a production stills photographer/"behind the scenes" documentary-photographer on film productions of all sizes and all genres. He has no interest in paparazzi work.

Recent clients include top global brands and companies like Microsoft/MSN, Lexus, Banca Intesa San Paolo (Italy), The Bryant Park Hotel (NYC) and Participant Media. His work has been seen in leading publications including The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.

Derek has also photographed celebrity personalities spanning a broad spectrum of creative talent, from multi-platinum hip-hop artists Snoop Dogg and Lil' Wayne to Hollywood legends Martin Sheen and William Friedkin. He shot several seasons of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City where he captured runway collections for designers including Michael Kors, Betsey Johnson, Anna Sui, Nicole Miller, Vera Wang, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, among others.

Farofa Filmes is a film production company based in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, with an office in São Paulo.

With 10 years’ market experience, Farofa is one of the country’s leading TV commercial production companies and has won national and international awards, including Cannes Lions, El Ojo, About, Colunistas, and Professionals of the Year.

Following the boutique concept, Farofa Filmes' leading advertising arm is represented by high quality fashion and beauty campaigns.

Farofa also provides production services for foreign companies looking to shoot in southern Brazil, while also offering post production services for companies from Brazil and abroad.

James Cant began his career 25 years ago in Melbourne, Australia as an architectural photographer. He moved to London in 1991 and spent the next 15 years working throughout Europe and America. Over time he moved into the fashion and beauty industry and used his experience of lighting and fine detail to create the very controlled style for which he has become renowned.

James left London in 2005 and spent five years in Sydney, shooting many local celebrities while still continuing to shoot fashion.

His award-winning pictures have appeared in numerous magazines including Marie Claire, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar, World of Interiors, Men's Style, GQ, Australian Women's Weekly, The Sydney Magazine, Wish Magazine, Easy Living, Red, Eve, Loaded Fashion, Later, ID, Arena and Vogue, amongst others.

His clients have included Paul Smith, Kurt Geiger, Frost, Polaroid, Herringbone, Westfield, MLC, Frangelico, Harrods, Proctor & Gamble, MSN, Tony & Guy, Wella, Sony, Myer, David Jones, Next, Etam and Marks & Spencer.

James recently moved to Southern California with his family and is now based in Laguna Beach.

Jan Kocovski fell in love with beauty photography as it gave him a unique way to mix lighting and composition. His vibrant and skin-rich images have won him clients across Europe, from Aigner, Energetix and Monteil Cosmetics to LCN, LSG Sky Chefs and AXA, he is conquering both the men's and women's beauty markets. His eye is drawn to rich colour and deep shadows and he is well known for his stunning work with liquids.

Alongside his production team, Jan consistently creates seamless productions and stunning imagery and is well equipped to take care of every aspect of location assignments.

Over the past 15 years Kenny McCracken has firmly established himself in the music, photography and film making scenes. Lately he has spread his wings into fashion, shooting the recent collection for controversial designer Jess Eaton, who creates couture items made from road kill found in the UK.

He has also shot fashion editorials for the likes of Who’s Jack Magazine and was commissioned to create imagery for the Australian jewellery and handbag brand Mimco.

Scottish-born, he now resides in Brighton, England, where he is part of the creative team based at photography studio Create. Aside from fashion, Kenny has also been commissioned to shoot a billboard campaign for P&O Ferries as well as beauty shots of bottles for large alcohol brands.

Linn From is a young, self-aware individual, constantly driven by self critique - a characteristic which has made her into a bit of a perfectionist. If she sets her mind to doing something, she'll do it well. She is also also defined by her courage, with a lot of respect for others and a humble attitude. She uses her intuition well, both when it comes to lighting and directing models. Her pictures really present her personality.

Mehmet Erzincan was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey.

Since 2008 he has been a managing partner and head photographer of his own production company.

His work is focused on fashion in both studio and outdoor environments. Mehmet has shot throughout the Mediterranean and has made professional sojourns to Miami.

His clients include magazines such as Vogue, Elle, L'Officiel, ALL , Marie Claire and GQ.

Born and now based in Rio, fashion photographer Prema Surya's interest in photography grew out of her chronicling street art four years ago. She recorded everything that happened in the streets and later transferred what she saw to the fashion industry and photography books for a selection of agencies. She fell in love with the profession and has not looked back.

Prema continues to grow as an artist and recenty used new photography techniques in Milan while working with Boom Models agency.

Her work has appeared in Brazilian and international magazines including UMA, The Fashionisto, MC Mag and Drops Magazine.

"My name is RC Rivera. R stands for Renato and C stands for Carlos. I shoot pictures. I was born in Pasig City (part of Metro Manila, Philippines), I became an Army brat and then moved to Virginia for High School. I went back to the Philippines, back to New Jersey, then to New York City and now I’m living in San Francisco."

When he's not taking pictures he's either working on his motorcycle, trying to whip up something from the Momofuku cookbook, checking Kayak for deals, or annoying his wife, cat and/or rabbit.

Client list includes Levi's, W+K, BrenesCo., Bare Essentials, ICON Magazine UK, ZOBHA, Hennesy, Papyrus, Macworld, Target, Walmart, Performer Magazine, Another World Entertainment, Volvo, CNN, and GAP.

Vlado Golub is a fashion, beauty and lingerie photographer based in Stuttgart. He combines his passion for aesthetics and people with his distinct technical skills and experience.

Clients such as St. Emile, Strenesse, bungalow, Hugo Boss, L’Oréal and Wella appreciate his straight-to-the-point approach as well as his amazing energy that captures the set, bringing out the best in every production. Vlado likes to work in his 500 m² studio as well as on location.

His clients also include Brigitte Magazine, Codello Lifestyle - Accessories, GQ Magazine, K&L Ruppert, Manhattan Cosmetics, Mercedes-Benz Sport, Mey Bodywear, Mustang, Nokia, O2 Germany and W.&L.T.

Yocky Zhang is a Shanghai-based photographer who has been shooting since 2008. His first job was as an advertising copywriter, but after six years he discovered his true means of expression with a real passion for photography.

Yocky's work has appeared in AD, GQ, Marie Claire, VISION, FHM, TimeOut and EUROWOMAN Magazine. His clients include Volkswagen, Absolut, Uniqlo, NIKE and Hailey&Sasha, working with W+K, McCann Erickson and TBWA.

Yocky is currently seeking representation in China and overseas. More information can be found on his website.