people & lifestyle photography May 2016

London-based Adrien Crasnault specialises in people and lifestyle photography and has a genuine flair for capturing spontaneity and the true emotions of his subjects.

His eye for technical detail and ability to catch the moment is unparalleled. Adrien is easy to work with and has a natural understanding of how to translate any brief or concept into a coherent, stylish and impeccably finished product.

A new collaborative project with film-maker Greg Mirzoyan means the pair can now offer a seamlessly integrated synergy of photo and video content.

Ben Van Hook is an American photographer and director known for his ability to craft beautiful, authentic imagery for global brands and agencies.

“Starting my career in journalism over 30 years ago shaped my view of the world. It’s based in creating photography and film that feels real and honest, in a slice of life kind of way. For me, creating an emotional connection in my work is the ultimate goal.”

Ben’s love of people and life is evident in his work. His clients include Johnson & Johnson, Philips, GlaxoSmithKline and Sports Illustrated.

Visit his website for more information.

Bill Sumner loves to take honest pictures of real people and have a blast.

"I have been doing it for quite a while for many different clients all over the world. Working with good people who love to collaborate and to come up with something they never thought of is the best.

Of course, you need a plan when you start a project, but you must also be open to the happy accidents which can supersede anything you imagined.  Everyone at the shoot is a potential contributor, and they need the opportunity to chime in. During one job, when I was working as an assistant, the photographer, who was exhausted after a long day, asked the janitor leaning on his broom what he thought. we worked another two hours getting some of the best stuff yet.

My studio is just north of Boston, but my passport is current so anywhere I can get to on this planet can be my next location. Let's talk and hopefully have some fun together."

Clients include: Nike, Converse, Raddison, Royal Caribbean, Wyndham, National Gypsum, American Airlines, and many others.

Brandon Flint is an accomplished sports and lifestyle photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He loves to create and capture life’s beautiful and authentic moments. He can do this thanks to his ability to make people feel comfortable and natural in any situation.

Working alongside a team of other like-minded, creative, and talented people. Brandon tackles projects ranging from editorial pieces to full production advertising campaigns for clients big and small. He has been a go-to and trusted photographer for many people over the last 10 years.

Brandon has worked with clients including Browing, Outside Magazine, Hi-Chew, Backpacker, Runners World Magazine, Via, Adweek, Skullcandy, and SelectHealth, among others.

Check out his website for more details.

Chris Sisarich’s approach to film and stills is the same - to create a relaxed, fun environment, capturing beautiful little moments and the same genuine emotions in both mediums.

"I love my work. I love the variety, the fact that every day is different. That I get to work with so many different and amazing people, that it takes me to far flung corners of the world. That I get to work on projects that are visually rich, emotive, striking, fashion forward, or just plain sexy. What a job!"

Chris has just been selected in Lürzer's Archive 'Top 200 Ad Photographers worldwide 2015 / 2016'.

"I’d rather be sailing, but I’m focused on getting that "42 footer" for our next trip so here I am trying to tell you how photography is a part of my life. Example: The Story Before the Image.

Two years ago I took some vacation with my family in Amsterdam and we decided to take on AirBnB for a change. It was a great apartment with an acoustic guitar hanging on the wall, which is what I need. I never met the owners - all internet.

Now cut to this: a few weeks ago, while I was in Rio photographing another story, The Guardian, in collaboration with Johnnie Walker, got in touch with me to shoot a few portraits of Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn - known for painting large areas of favela communities around the world. After the shoot, which came out great, we headed to the nearest pub to celebrate and chat a bit, which led to me talking about my lovely time in Amsterdam.

And that led to us to finding out that I stayed, coincidentally, at Dre’s home while I was on my vacation. Imagine our reactions upon this fun discovery! It was pretty overwhelming, I must say. Photography has this effect on me - it connects me with all kinds of people who are somehow all a part of the image."

Visit Christian's website for more information.

Christian Mushenko is a food, lifestyle and people photographer known for capturing authentic moments in a distinctive warm and emotive style. His work is alive and vibrant and his eye for beauty and humanity leaves a lasting impression.

His award-winning photography is sought by clients to put them ahead of their competitors. For over 20 years, Christian has been shooting for some of the world's largest brands, working with direct and agency clients in the UK, the USA, Asia and Australia shooting everything from successful global campaigns to small pro-bono work and personal projects.

Visit his website to see more of his work.

Christoph Gramann has been working worldwide as a photographer for 26 years. Born in the north of Germany, he inherited the passion of photographing not only from his father, but from his grandpa and his uncles; his brother is also a photographer.

On the basis of his experience as a family man and sportsman, Christoph is "cool as a cucumber". Whether he is shooting babies, celebrities or grandmas, the atmosphere is filled with good vibrations.

Christoph shoots for clients including FC Bayern, Skoda, Allianz Insurance, O2, Vodafone, KabelDeutschland and ZDF.

Dave Kennedy is a lifestyle, kids and sports photographer who lives between Cape Town, Dubai and France with his family.  

He has a very spontaneous style of shooting and finds inspiration in happy people, colours and light.

If not shooting for big brands such as Emirates, Samsung, Oil of Olay and Nestlé, Dave can always be found with his family surfing at his local surf break in the little fishing village of Kommetjie.

Dennis Welsh and his team bring stills and video to nearly every shoot, executing across all mediums to satisfy the multi-platform needs of his clients.

Dennis has been travelling through Iceland to the Bahamas, South Dakota, California, Chicago, New York, New Hampshire, and finally back to Maine where he calls home.

"Love the industry and all that comes with it. Good folks. Creative types. Often travel with my guitar. Would travel with two, but that's a hard line item to justify. Love the people I shoot. Have made a lot of friends out there, all of which I'm thankful for.  Have been to a few fun places too, which remind me that there are so many centers of the universe that you shouldn't hang your hat in one place too long. Open-minded enough to know that there's something to learn every day."

Recent clients include Nissan, New Hampshire Tourism, Exclusive Resorts, Leica, ACLU, AMC, Omni Resorts and Red Hat.

Dennis is represented worldwide by Doug Truppe Represents.

To Hans Verleur, the essence of imaging is storytelling and lighting. In photography he likes to create single-frame-stories, in which the action extends beyond the frame and the lighting conditions set the mood. Pinpointing his style, it can best be described as cinematographic, the light tells an important part of the story. On top of this, he enjoys the co-creation with creatives and the collaboration with the subjects.

Although his assignments range from portraits to landscapes, he considers lifestyle as the core direction in his photography. He has specialised himself in customised image banks: client specific series of images which reflect the essence of the company, or of a certain product. During such productions his full photographic and production experience come into play: storytelling, improvisation, wide production experience, dealing with challenges and in depth client relation.

Clients big or small, he is always dedicated to maximize the outcome.

Working locally in both San Francisco and Dallas, Jill Broussard is a lifestyle photographer specialising in storytelling with bright, clean imagery on locations of all sorts - hotels, airplanes, beehives, and boats. She is available and excited to travel for assignments virtually anywhere.

With an approachable personality both on and off set, Jill's communication style with both crew and talent is clear and concise. She is best known for her relaxed "bedside manner" and her ability to bring the best light and depth to every moment she captures on film.

Jill provides full service from start to finish, including all production aspects to final retouching. She brings a creative spark to the drawing board, forges collaboration with singular vision on set, and reliably ends every production with a handoff of beautiful, unique imagery to every client.

Jon Enoch is a London-based people photographer with a bold, uncomplicated and often timeless approach to his work.

With a wide range of experience in the celebrity, sports and lifestyle sectors he brings a wealth of experience to the shoot; solving problems and adding value to the brief.

Jon’s work has earned him widespread recognition, with his 'Body and Mind' work winning the highly prestigious AOP Award 2015.

"I'm a people and lifestyle photographer based in London and shooting internationally. My pictures combine authenticity with style and great use of light.

Recent shoots include campaigns for Travelodge and Brown Shipley Private Banking, as well as editorial assignments for Wired Magazine.

This Spotlight features some recent personal shoots with fitness and style bloggers."

Laura Barisonzi strives to create unique, iconic imagery that incorporates a strong use of colour and graphic elements. Her lifestyle and sports work is based on the beauty of genuinely active people and natural movement rather than stiff poses.

"What keeps me inspired to shoot is connecting with people and experiencing new places," she says.

Laura studied at Brown University and RISD and now lives in New York. When she manages to pry herself away from the camera she is likely to be biking, running, swimming, or travelling around trying to improve her foreign language skills.

Her clients have included Reebok, Poland Spring, Dove, Heineken, Tyson, MSG Entertainment, NFL, Icebreakers, Outside Magazine, Runner's World, Vibram Five Fingers, Nationwide Insurance, Boston Magazine, Health Magazine, Bicycling, Sierra, Knorr, Fitness, Scholastic, Newsweek and Forbes.

Based in Germany, Maik Floeder is an advertising photographer and director specialised in lifestyle and beauty. His photography is about honesty and is centered on specific, perfect moments, people, personalities and stories. "It is about fun, friendship and emotion."

2015 ended with a major campaign for Rossmann, while 2016 began with an advertising campaign shoot for Migros in Switzerland followed by campaigns for Persil in Turkey and Head and Shoulders in Dubai.

Maik has worked for a range of international clients including Volkswagen, Samsung and Nivea.

Visit his website and blog for more of his work.

Malcolm SK Fitt Photography provides creative professionals, brands and agencies with imagery that does their business, brands and products justice by delivering stunning, sharp images that inspire and create emotion in people - real life situations that are frozen in time and images that have a distinct, emotive and awe inspiring feel.

Recently shooting for some fantastic fashion, travel and commercial brands (First Choice, Thomson, Northcore-Europe and Supersaturated Clothing) has taken Malcolm around the world to some amazing outdoor locations which, along with underwater shooting, is his forté.

Malcolm SK Fitt Photography is busy preparing for shoots in Rhodes and Cape Town in the next few weeks.

Munich-based photographer Marina Kloess is specialised in lifestyle, kids and people photography. She regularly works on a diverse range of personal projects and is well known for her honest, natural images.

Marina's professional photography career started in 2009 and she has since amassed extensive experience in kids, lifestyle and people photography, shooting on location and in the studio in Germany and abroad.

Marina captures and communicates moments, feelings and people in a way that is both tangible and sincere.

Her latest projects took her to Cape Town.

Matthew Joseph is an advertising photographer based in London. A quick and adaptable shooting style combined with people skills means capturing people in their element and environment comes naturally to him.

His work is real, fresh and dramatic - knowing how to utilise natural and artificial light for his gain, in equal measure. He is commissioned to shoot people and lifestyle for various brands and agencies worldwide and has recently been awarded first place in the RICS Infrastructure Photographer of the year competition, for a campaign he shot for Thames Water.

Mikkel Vang finds inspiration everywhere: in people, cars, aeroplanes, hot air balloons, boats, coffee, dreaming, landscapes, and of course, living. Today, he makes images that feel believable while also adding a touch of sophistication.

Mikkel's work has always been about storytelling and light - setting up a scene like a film set, the quest for flawless light and his ability to frame an image to give it the magic of a cinematic moment.

Having lived and worked in Europe and Australia he is now based in New York. Mikkel's work is sought after time and again by clients all over the world, including Ikea, Volvo, General Electric, Delta, Gardena and Samsung.

Germany and Canada-based photographer Peer Brecht works worldwide, surprising clients with extraordinary new perspectives and unique pictures. Combining a knowledge of fashion photography with expertise in landscape, cars and people, clients appreciate his talent for creating the perfect picture.

Peer and his team have landed in Stuttgart again after tackling exciting projects in South Africa and Switzerland. Spontaneously on a Sunday, they used the vacant location of a fantastic hairdressing saloon ("thank you Ahmed!") for a production for Spoon Firenze. At the end of a long, successful weekend day and a lot of fun, great pictures were a satisfying result.

Recent clients also include Loewe, Cerruti, Spoon Golf, Mini, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz and Jack Nicklaus, as well as editorials for The Chicago Tribune. Always looking to create something new and exciting, Peer is ready to accept any challenge and is constantly looking forward to the next picture. He is currently traveling in Turkey, looking for the next challenge in his third new home and his new passion - flower photography.

Peter Bak is a Rotterdam-based portrait, lifestyle and travel photographer. A freelancer for nearly 20 years, Peter educated himself in photography during his late 20s before moving to New York City.

During his time in NYC, Peter had the opportunity to master film photography before moving on to digital. He now works comfortably in both formats.

He has a natural talent for outdoor and location photography and is known for his dramatically lit environment portraits and intriguing travel images. He specialises in creating engaging portraits and documantery, and enjoys making photo reports for travel and lifestyle magazines.

When not shooting professionally, Peter spends his time travelling and working on his personal portrait series. For Peter it is all about people. He prefers to work in a documentary style, enabling him to get closer to a person. Photography to Peter is a way to access these moments, to travel, to meet. "Without these moments they are just pictures," he says.

Clients include Nautique, Rails, Playboy, Elle, Carp, HP de tijd, NRC and M-magazine.

Exciting, energetic, spontaneous, believable and fun. Peter shoots high impact lifestyle photography and film that tells a story.

"Pete creates a fun environment for his models (and art directors) to relax in, giving natural, exciting captured moments."

Recently completed stills commissions include: Royal Caribbean International, Dunlop, Pizza Hut, Tesco, P&O Cruises, Eurocamp, Skanska ID, Getty Images, Park Resorts, Warner Leisure Hotels, Royal Air Force, Haven Holidays, Virgin, Times Newspapers, Suncorp Metway (Australia), WeightWatchers, British Heart Foundation, London and Quadrant, Monckton Chambers, UHY International, The Guardian, Reading University, Merlin Entertainments, David Lloyd Clubs and Farrington Oils.

Recently completed film commissions include WeightWatchers, Warner Leisure Hotels, Haven Holidays, Royal Air Force, Skanska and Getty Film.

Russ Quackenbush creates visual images of humanity that reflect the qualities we cherish most in each other. In his portraiture, he gently documents the relics of a subject's life experiences as they unfold and present themselves in the emotions of their face, the language of their body, and the energy of their being.

"Russ' photography gives us license to laugh, play, rejoice, or to mourn. It is through his images that we are led respectfully and thoughtfully into the life of another."

After starting his business in 1996, he received a myriad of awards from the Photography and Advertising Annuals of Communication Arts, The Ad Club, and The One Show. Creativity Magazine, Archive, and Photo District News have all featured Russ and his work. In 2001, PDN distinguished Russ in its '30 Under 30', presenting him as a young talent worth keeping an eye on. He has since enjoyed living up to that reputation!

Based in Cologne, Tomas Rodriguez works on numerous projects across lifestyle, advertising, kids and fashion photography. He has been shooting independently as a skilled and experienced photographer since 1998.

Photography is his genuine passion and it fulfills him to produce significant as well as expressive images, such as those which resulted from a production in Khayelitsha, one of the biggest townships in South Africa. The pictures show real life there without extenuation, and illustrate that life is everything but easy on the outskirts of Cape Town.

There could not be a bigger contrast with the lifestyle pictures Tomas shoots, and this is what makes his work unique and points towards his belief in producing authentic pictures.

Tomas’ work attracts national and international attention and appeals to popular fashion labels, advertising and stock agencies.