There are not many things Karen loves more than an excuse to create stunning splashes with beautiful looking drinks. Her recent shoot for the bubble tea company Purcha was an absolute joy. Not only were the shots fun to create but the added bonus of being able to sample these amazing drinks wasn’t missed. Karen also directed a powerful video for the brand which is also featured in this Showcase.

Karen also recently had the pleasure of shooting Madhuka teas for OForest. Shown here are three of the colourful images that helped the recent exciting launch of the brand.

Franklin Lade is a fast-expanding new company that manufactures beautiful, stylish glass jars and other storage. Karen created an authentic homely setting to showcase their high-end products.  Lastly in this showcase are two mouth-watering shots of Marks and Spencer meal deals. A feast to behold!

Karen Thomas is a London-based photographer and director with over 20 years of experience in producing beautifully inspiring images. Karen has an extensive client list that includes some of the biggest names in food such as M&S, Costa, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, McDonald's and Lidl to name just a few. She works with the very best food stylists in order to produce the high quality of work for which she is well known.

Karen fell in love with photography at a young age and the passion has never left her. She loves nothing more than getting stuck into an exciting project whether it’s a big advertising shoot, editorial project or some of her own experimental work. It might be a busman’s holiday, but in her spare time, she loves nothing more than cooking!

London based food photographer Danielle Wood has been busy photographing commissions for McDonald’s, Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Lidl.

Shooting from her fully equipped studio and working alongside a skilled team she creates colourful, bold and fresh images for both photography and motion.

For this issue of Spotlight Magazine, Danielle has selected images from a recent advertising campaign with McDonald’s featuring the Big Tasty burger range. A fun and colourful fast food test, a campaign for Dolmio and some bold, vibrant images shot for 'The Ultimate Airfryer Cookbook' commissioned by Penguin Random House.

Danielle’s clients include McDonald's, Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys, Lidl, Tesco, Dolmio, BBC Good Food, Olive Magazine, Penguin, Harper Collins and many more.

Please feel free to get in touch with Danielle directly or through her agent Lucy, and check out Danielle’s website for her latest work featuring some delicious images and new motion work.

Jonathan Knowles is an award-winning advertising photographer and filmmaker creating extraordinary imagery for the world’s most established brands. He specialises in drinks, liquids, food, still life, beauty and special effects.

Jonathan’s approach is organic, authentic and natural. He believes that the magic of successful imagery comes from capturing exquisite moments in camera.

Today, Jonathan neighbours the River Thames in his London studio, fully equipped with a Phantom Flex 4K camera and motion control robot, capturing still images and films that will reach people across the globe. It was here that he created the iconic O2 bubbles, and brands such as Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker, Heineken, Guinness, Robinsons, Glenfiddich, Cadbury, McDonald’s, Heinz, Meta, Dior, Rimmel, ITV and many more have sought out Jonathan’s distinguished and timeless style.

Steve Ryan is a food and drink photographer who has worked with some of the most renowned and innovative food and media brands in the world including Jamie Oliver, Guinness, Tabasco, Jamesons, Baileys, KFC.

As a photographer, Steve has a way of bringing out the personality of his subjects - whether he is working with people or food (or both), his work is always engaging.

Steve co-founded  40FT Brewery in East London now producing over 5,000 pints of fresh beer each week. Steve also co-founded Root + Bone, a quarterly foodzine exploring London's vibrant food and drink culture, he is a contributing editor.

Steve is represented by JSR, see his work here and follow the agency on Instagram for the latest projects.

JSR is a London-based agency representing an award-winning roster of artists.

The agency represents photographers, illustrators, animators and CGI artists creating campaigns for advertising agencies and direct clients across the world.

Recent projects include: images and motion for Vanguard's 'Tough Mudder' campaign by Henrik Knudsen and BOOM CGI. Top Peloton instructors by sports photographer Dominic Marley, high end stills for Augustinus Bader skincare by Amy Currell. Arnhel de Serra shot the campaign for children's bank cards Go Henry.

Matt Hind shot luxury fashion editorial for Millionair Magazine, Oliver Paffrath shot the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Olivia Beasley's shot of Gigi was chosen as LensCulture editor's pick Street Photography Awards 2023.

Horton-Stephens, London's leading photographers' agents for over 25 years, have been busy as usual shooting stills and moving image, from online content to TVC. Featured in this Spotlight is a selection of new work, but be sure to visit the site for a full run-down, including amazing motion CG work by Revenant and their latest signing Samuel McElwee. 

Horton-Stephens is well-known for representing a world-class group of photographers, but moving image has become a bigger and bigger part of what the team do. Great production remains key to the success of all their shoots. They are friendly and approachable, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of lighting, casting, locations (in the UK and worldwide), set building, timings, post-production, cgi and moving image - whether shooting TVCs or on the back of TVCs (a very particular challenge that they deal with often, where they only have moments to get the shot), they have done it all.

Head over to their Latest News section of the website to see recent projects and more.

"Characterised by heart-stopping stunts and adrenaline-charged tricks, the art of BikeLife has become a dynamic sport with an uninhibited spirit. Creating an extensive project of stunning stills and moving image, award-winning photographer and director Matthew Joseph hit the streets of Baltimore and New York to capture the BikeLife community in action.

More standout work for Matt includes the recent moving image project ‘Cameron’ which tells an epic story of captivating athletics shot in the fast-paced world of a young South African making a splash on the Cape Town parkour scene.

We’re delighted to announce that Matt is a finalist in this year’s upcoming AOP awards, where both the Cameron and BikeLife projects have been selected to appear in the finalist’s exhibition, and we’re looking forward to celebrating his work at the 38th annual awards where the competition winners will be revealed at the end of the summer! Best of luck to all the finalists."

"At Style Department we work with the very best in the industry, whether they are food and prop stylists, home economists or commercial photographers. These high standards ensure that we get the best results for our clients every single time.

This year, three talented representatives, Kris Kirkham (food photographer); Alice Ostan and Lola Faura (food stylists), emerged as winners and runners-up, showcasing their exceptional skills and creativity in the field of food photography at the International Pink Lady Food Photography Awards 2023.

Alice Ostan, food stylist, was 2nd overall in the Food Stylist category and contributed to the winning Marks & Spencer Food Portraiture. With photographer Cara, Alice's skills blew the judges away and secured them the top prize with her gorgeous food styling for the image Fritto Misto.

Together with the fabulous food photographer Kris Kirkham, Lola helped create the new pigs in blanket's iconic image for Delicious, winning Kris 1st place in the Production Paradise Previously Published category. Lola also worked on 'Eggs', a video, and stills with other photographers who won awards and mentions in different categories.

"To taste the fantastic styling work of our roster and news about Style Department, visit our Journal, Vimeo and on Instagram."

To get in contact to discuss your project, contact Style Department. New website coming soon.

Leo Acker's playful and imaginative work makes him one of London's most in-demand still life photographers.

Whether in his Shoreditch studio or on location, Leo has built a reputation for his technical ability to translate ideas into bold and original images.

Regular clients include Russell & Bromley, Cult Beauty, Skin Rocks by Caroline Hirons, Marks & Spencer, Liberty, Jasper Conran, The Financial Times, Cosmopolitan, and Grazia Magazine.

Paul Zak is a multi-award winning, London-based, still life photographer and director.

He has become renowned for his graphic and striking imagery, where objects and their surrounding environments are portrayed with exquisite lighting and precise detail.

Paul’s technical knowledge and his unique set of lighting skills allow him to turn even the most simple object into a thing of beauty.

Inherently, he enjoys the challenge of interpreting a concept and working as part of a team, with creatives and crew to craft beautiful imagery.

His ability to create a distinctive style for every client he shoots for has led to a long list of premium clients including Audi, Canon, Chanel, Chivas, Don Perignon, Dove, Harpers, Johnnie Walker, Lurpak, Nespresso, Nike, Smirnoff, Space NK and The Economist to name but a few.

Paul is represented by Katy Niker, check out their Instagram and website for more info.