people & lifestyle photography Feb 2008

Bernd Opitz is an established advertising photographer with a tremendous lust for pictures - regardless of the subject. His commitment to clients, dedication to work and general perseverance in capturing the perfect shot has been rewarded with the respect of many Art Directors and numerous photo credits.

His unique signature style creates spontaneous, natural-looking and well-defined photographs, forming the perfect composition of people in their own environment.

Bernd Opitz works internationally with experienced production teams in South Africa, Australia (Sydney/Perth), Sweden, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Mauritius, Switzerland, Austria, USA, and France.

His client list includes: Lufthansa, SAP, T-Mobile International, TUI, Villeroy&Boch, WMF, Nokia, Milka, Kraft Foods, Alphera, BMW Group, Bayer, Toyota, Credit Suisse, McCafé, Nivea, Microsoft, Focus, HSH Bank, Infineon, Intersport, Myself Magazine, Natreen, Nolte, Rauch, Schering, Siemens, Rolf Benz, Datev, Duravit, and Elle Decoration International.

Bernd Opitz is represented in Europe by Agentur Neubauer and in the US by Tim Mitchell.

Dominik Mentzos works out of his own studio in Frankfurt, Germany. His eye for movement, space and light has been influenced by a longstanding collaboration with William Forsythe.

He enjoys switching between various different fields of photography. His work includes fashion, advertising, stage, editorial portraiture and landscape photography. His dance series has been shown in several exhibitions around the world, in places like Paris, Stockholm, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Montreal, and Antwerp.

Over the last four years he has completed several productions for Lufthansa, whilst other clients have included Deutsche Bahn, Jaguar, Nestlé, Kia Motors, Schumacher, DWS, René Storck, Dresdner Bank, Renault, and Visa Card.

Despite the recent switch to digital photography and all the new developments in postproduction, Dominik has not lost his passion for the classic b/w shot. For this, some call him a modern classic.

Photographer Jens Umbach recently shot a portrait of The Kings of Leon at Radio City Music Hall for The Guardian-Weekend. Other recent projects include a portrait of Aerin Lauder for Annabelle Magazine, and a portrait of Calvin Klein perfumer Ann Gottlieb for German Vogue. He is also working on a personal project of nudes that will be published in the near future.

Some of the many actors, writers, musicians and artists he has photographed include: Samuel L. Jackson, David Oyelowo, Michael Stipe, Alicia Keys, Regina Spektor, Oscar de la Renta, Philip Lim, Anna Sui, Tom Brown, Thomas Struth, and Cecily Brown, to name but a few.

His clients include: London Telegraph, London Observer, German Vogue, British Vogue, The New Yorker, Esquire, IBM, Goldman Sachs, British Airways, Mercedes Benz, and Procter & Gamble.

Jorge Steinmann loves shooting people in action poses, combining movement with beautiful landscapes.

His clients, such as Puma GR., Pelé Enterprises, Intersport, Mariamaria and Sport2000 appreciate the photographer's good eye and deep knowledge of anatomy and body motions.

In conjunction with Maciria, who has been offering high quality hair and make-up for many years, 2007 saw their joint production company Brazil Productions work with renowned clients Otto, Vogue Germany and Quelle to complete catalogue productions in Brazil.

Jorge and his crew can be booked from Zurich (Switzerland) and Fortaleza (Brazil).

Les Meyers' portrait style is expressive and bold. His use of setting and colour creates an immediate connection with his audience. From experimental electronic artists to Olympic hopefuls, his subjects express their personality in a direct manner.

Les shares his time between his native New York and Europe, where he recently joined the Berlin-based Gecko Photographers team.

The photographer is a regular contributor to Men's Health Magazine, while his images have featured in the Greek edition of Vogue and were also used in the Van Gils perfume campaign, with English-based advertising firm Myriad.

He recently completed a series of portraits for the "Man of the Year" issue of Status Magazine in Athens.

Mark Turnbull's work is people-based and he enjoys connecting with his subjects to get the most out of them. He works on a wide range of assignments, specialising in lifestyle and portrait photography.

Mark has a strong reportage approach which is equally at home photographing lifestyle campaigns on location for AXA, producing images in the studio for Roche, or portraits for large corporations such as Sainsbury's.

He shoots for corporate, advertising and editorial clients and has just finished the annual reports for William Hill and Standard Chartered through Black Sun. Mark also has a number of public sector clients including the DCSF and the DIUS, and recently completed a ten day national shoot aimed at building a library of images to be used in white papers and other UK government literature.

Mark Westerby specialises in location photography. He works internationally shooting people, landscapes, animals  - almost anything on location!

The photographer likes to keep his shots natural and atmospheric, with big landscapes full of depth that connect his subjects to their carefully chosen locations.

Mark's most recent campaign saw him working with some of the UK's top athletes, among them Paula Radcliffe, for the sportswear brand Nike.

Also included in this Spotlight are a selection of portraits from Mark's trip to the Amazon.

Michael Berger is a highly successful Düsseldorf-based freelance fashion and advertising photographer. He has been working in the industry for over five years.

Besides working from his 500 sqm studio, Michael loves confronting the challenges of outdoor photography and travels worldwide to shoot on location. Since 2007 he has focussed on shooting celebrities.

Recent projects include:

• Paris Hilton for Rich Prosecco. Agency: Seeberk. CD: Julian Seiffert.
• Sarah Brandner for Lambertz. Agency: Alphapool.
• Bruce Darnell and Barbara from German Next Topmodel for C&A. Agency: Steinle&Melches. CD: Roderich Melches.

Michael has a host of big names confirmed in his diary for later this year, and in March will start working with Luke Laylor from Periscope-Creative.

Photographer Patrick Harrison has 20 years of experience shooting warm, engaging and inspiring natural images. Specialising in real people and their environments, his reportage and portrait work has been commissioned for campaigns by The Body Shop, Nokia and Npower, among others.

He recently finished a global lifestyle photo library for Hans Wegner furniture. A cross section of people from babies to grandparents were photographed in their homes alongside a fine selection of furniture design 'classics'.

Patrick is currently working on an image library for the re-branding of Glen Grant whisky, which has involved shooting fresh images of people, landscapes and still life scenes across Scotland. As well as commercial campaigns Patrick also shoots a wide range of work for charities and the public sector. Recent commissions came from Sport England, NHS, The Carbon Trust, The Crafts Council, NSPCC and Mencap.

When he's not out shooting on location, Patrick is based either at his studio in Hoxton or in his log cabin in Sweden.

Photographer Simon Winnall specialises in portrait, lifestyle and conceptual photography for advertising and corporate clients. Simon loves photographing fascinating people in cool locations.

Each project is tackled with energy, humour and an insatiable appetite for 'thinking big', all coupled with calm yet agile production skills.

The photographer has had a wonderful year, travelling to the United States, Europe and the Far East on assignment for clients such as BMW, DHL, NHS, nPower, Siblu, and Visit Britain.

Simon likes "people, collaboration, Guinness, the colour green, laughing and hard work!"  Contact him to see his book and to talk about potential projects.

Simon is interested in talking to reps in the UK and Europe.

Photographer Stefan Schuetz spent six months documenting his travels between twelve African countries. Beginning in Munich and winding his way down the east coast of the continent to Cape Town, Stefan returned with some beautiful memories:

"I never felt life so true than in Africa! The openness, helpfulness and enthusiasm of the people is very catching."

"For me it was very important not to repeat the usual images of the gap between rich and poor in today's Africa. I observed, listened, and I learned a lot."

As a result Stefan was able to capture the unbroken pride of Africa in his images. After 30.000 kilometres without hindrance, his appetite for photography and life has been reinvigorated.

The Munich-based sports and people photographer attaches huge importance to instinctive authenticity in his freelance work. For his latest advertising shoots he used all available media to place Dirk Nowitzki, Ian Thorpe and other sports stars in perspective.

Stephen Austin Welch makes an art of photographing visual solutions for his clients. His communication skills provide a strong foundation for every production. "We make pictures and solve problems along the way," says Stephen.

Crisscrossing North America and Europe, Stephen has recently shot for Hilton, Corona and Levi's. The magazines Communication Arts, Photo District News, HOW and Print often showcase his award winning work.

His photographs are identifiable by the genuine connection with his subjects. Whether he's strapped into a roller coaster shooting for Adobe, cliff-side shooting hang gliders for Outside Magazine or making portraits of rockers in a pub for Glitterhouse Records, the photographs are striking and soulful. Lately Stephen can be found in the comforts of a studio shooting for Intel and Yahoo!.

Using the best in digital technology, Stephen works with the agency from concept to capture and throughout the post-production process to create top-notch images.

Urs Wyss has been working as a professional photographer for 15 years and has a broad range of different advertising and editorial clients.

He still likes to explore the never-ending possibilities and new challenges presented by modern photography, especially with the latest digital camera versions that offer yet more creative options.

"It's never boring," he says, "and it's a constant challenge and immensely interesting to meet professionals all around the world and in such a short space of time create great photography."

Urs works for some of the biggest advertising and editorial clients in the European and Russian markets.

Urs Wyss is represented by Avocado Productions.

 

William King is an experienced photographer who produces creative and stylish lifestyle and business images for discerning clients. He is passionate about the work he does, and keeps it cost effective whilst always looking to give that little extra that will mean success for his clients.

His images were recently used by Ogilvy & Mather (NYC), EDF, DDB Dusseldorf, Proximity Germany, John Brown Publishing, Siemans, Grey Worldwide, Pearson, DHL Express, IPC Media, Euro RSCG, Marie-Claire, Ad-hoc Young and Rubicam, Rapp Collins Hamburg, OgilvyOne Worldwide, M+C Saatchi Sydney, Lexus, McCann Erikson and many, many others. 

He has also produced large bodies of work for clients such as RAC, BSM, Rolls Royce Motor Cars, Unite PLC, RBS, and Specsavers.