sport photography + motion Feb 2018

Aaron Okayama captures the endurance and strength of athletes with his incredible lighting skills and ease behind the camera.

He recently shot beach yoga and running with Speedo, and Bubba Watson for OAKLEY Golf. He never lets clients down with the precision and sentiment that his photos consistently deliver.

Portrait photographer Adam Lawrence showcases a selection of work featuring his ability to secure great performances from his subjects within the athletic and sporting domains.

Whether on location or in the studio, Adam embraces each commission with enthusiasm, professionalism and vibrancy.

Recent clients include Adidas, Mitsubishi, Harlequins Rugby, Panasonic and Vauxhall.

Inspired by her Carpathian homeland, snowboarding and Pearl Jam, Andrea Gaspar-Klein's career has grown deeply into the world of sports.

She feels privileged to be able to combine her profession with her passion for dynamic movement in spectacular settings, and to work as a freelance photographer for advertising, sport magazines and commercial shoots across lifestyle, outdoor and sportswear.

Andrea is represented by Avenger Photographers.

Felix Shumack is a London-based sports advertising photographer. His work is all about capturing athletes at their best; whether it’s a full action sprint down the pitch, that last agonising rep or an engaging portrait.

His unique style, use of lighting and understanding of movement allows him to create high impact, authentic and aspirational imagery.

With a passion and understanding of sport along with an ability to shoot motion, Felix brings a wealth of experience, efficiency and creative vision to any project.

Fredrik Clement shoots premium sports images and film in a reportage style, capturing the moment and the unfiltered emotions. He works worldwide for clients such as Adidas, Red Bull, BMW and North Face, to name a few.

Check out his new 2018 Showreel.

Fredrik is represented by Stem Agency in the UK, and Josette Lata in the US.

Graeme Murray loves creating; his whole career has been in the image industry. After training in professional photography, his early days saw him working at one of New Zealand’s top audio/visual production companies creating, developing and producing product launches for New Zealand’s largest corporations and using various types of multi-media from theatrical lighting, to video/slide projection and interactive graphics, to set design and the most fun, pyrotechnics!

Then the desire to be shooting led him to run his own successful photography business. Graeme now works with clients and agencies on projects that include portraiture, people, lifestyle and sport related to advertising. He takes all his knowledge and experience from previous work in the AV and TV industries into his photography, so dealing with any situation is effortless.

Graeme has a great rapport with clients and the production crew on jobs and goes beyond the norm to make sure the shoot meets and exceeds expectations. Clients include Red Bull, Adidas, Samsung, VW, John Deere, AIG, Bendon, Ozone, Atomic and Mac Pac Outdoor Clothing, among others.

Graeme can be found in the studio or shooting outdoors. He is an official Red Bull International Photographer.

Ian and Erick are photographers specialising in lifestyle, portrait and action sports. They have travelled the world to Hawaii, Tahiti, Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Maldives, France, Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius, South Africa, LA and NY for photo shoots and know what it takes to get the shots in a high pressure environment.

Over the years, Ian and Erick have used their lifestyle photography skills to complement their portrait photography. They treat location and surroundings very much as part of the process, and their subjects always feel relaxed and at home in front of the camera.

Over the years, the pair have worked with advertising agencies such as M&C Saatchi, Host, JWT, Cummins & Partners and others. They have worked on ad campaigns including 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 and Tiger Airways Magazine, to name a few.

Their artistic work has been exposed in galleries in NY, Paris, Hong Kong, Sydney, Perth and Mauritius.

Ian & Erick are represented by Flipp.

Jon Shard is globally recognised for his distinguished work across advertising, sport and portraiture.

Most notably is Jon's breadth of experience in sports photography. High profile and international campaigns include clients such as Nike, Reebok and Asics. Collaborations with some of the world's most iconic footballers include Messi, Neymar, Bale and Ronaldo, to name but a few.

Jon is renowned for his ability to work with worldwide leading talent, building rapport to capture uncomprimising shots in often challenging time slots and locations. He is known for his creative lighting and unwavering passion, making him both personable and calm under pressure.

He is UK-based, working globally.

Jon is currently seeking representation.

Laura Barisonzi is a NYC-based photographer specialising in shooting lifestyle, sports, and people on location.

Laura keeps busy running, climbing, swimming and cycling along with dabbling in other sports. Knowing and understanding the movements for each sport she shoots helps her shoot more dramatic action-packed imagery.

Clients have included Adidas, Poland Spring, Dove, Samsung, Danner Boots, NFL, Runner's World, Google Drive, Bud Light, Women's Health, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra, Reebok, the Gap, Fitness, Adweek and New Balance.

Maik Scharfscheer's ideal is to work in nature, especially in the mountains.  "There you find special moods, transitions in the landscape, and seasonal changes which I find extraordinary and fascinating. Mountain landscapes have a special attraction because of the complexity of nature and their diverse sporting possibilities."

Maik is a passionate sportsman running, mountain biking and skiing year-round. Above all, he appreciates the surroundings of Innsbruck with its excellent infrastructure for his sports shoots and - above all - its proximity to the sun-drenched South Tyrol.

Based in Munich and represented by UPFRONT photo & film, Ray Demski is one of the most exciting action and adventure photographers working today.

Growing up in the rocky mountains of Canada, Ray always loved the outdoors, a passion amplified by the fact that from the age of 14 he spent seven years sailing around the world on a 45-foot sailboat. It was during this time that Ray picked up his first camera and ignited his passion for photographing the diverse people and landscapes around him.

As a life-long athlete and explorer, Ray splits his time between high-profile commercial work and expeditions to intense places with amazing people.

Clients include BMW, Red Bull, Adidas, Nikon, Audi, Multipower, Rosbacher, Atomic Ski, National Geographic Adventure, Bogner, Callaway, Salewa, Siemens and SportScheck.

"My history in sports photography stems from a life-long passion for cycling. Through riding BMX as a teen, I’d pick up the odd injury and rather than miss out on the social aspect, I picked up a camera, rode along, and the rest is history.

Personally, I believe it was that process of shooting a subject I was so invested in that taught me how essential authenticity is in photography, in particular sports photography. So now, no matter what genre the subject hails from, my goal is to beautifully light and document them in their most authentic moments. Whether that’s on location or in studio.

Perhaps it was shooting BMX riders throwing themselves off rooftops and down stairs during those formative years that instilled the calm, organised demeanour in me that is required to handle the high pressure environments of large-scale productions, and the often time restricted settings of shooting elite level athletes."

Sabrina Conforti’s adventure in the world of photography began by attending the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan. Shot after shot, she created a unique style which has helped her to make her way in a predominantly male world.

As a former basketball player and always passionate about sports, she began to photograph athletes and entered the world of rugby in 2008. Known internationally, Sabrina worked for Adidas on Danilo Gallinari’s campaign, for an Italian tour by Jonah Lomu (former All Black), and with Javier Zanetti across a range of shoots.

She is the author of numerous series published in Sportweek and has been following the Italian National Rugby Team for 10 years. Sabrina has also been the official photographer of the Crédit Agricole Italia Group for four years. Her significant portfolio includes cooperation with the Mondadori Group and Discovery Italia.

Sabrina's greatest strength is empathy, which encourages her subjects to open up and bare themselves in front of the lens. She offers an innovative and personal style - in her shots, there is all the elegance and lightness that distinguish her. However, it is reductive to consider her 'only' a photographer: her skills and knowledge allow her to manage all phases of a photoshoot, from creative direction to post-production.

Scott McDermott is a photographer specialising in entertainment and sports advertising projects as well as some editorial and unit photography on film and TV sets.

Scott started out shooting athletes and extreme sports but his work eventually shifted towards portraiture and the athletes themselves. This led to photographing many of the best creative minds in Hollywood, the music industry and the worlds of business and government.

Along with his advertising and editorial work, Scott has created several personal projects including a series for "Mandela Day," capturing the hands and faces of many of those who support Nelson Mandela's message, and a recent series of portraits accompanying the film 'Pop Culture' about the fatherhood experience.

In the last few years, Scott has also made the shift to the moving image as a director on a variety of projects from commercial spots to short films. Scott is based in both New York City and Los Angeles.

Visit his website to see a client list and latest awards.

Sports photographer Shamil Tanna has had a great start to the year with stills and moving image shoots for Integer, Atomic, 442 and Red Bulletin.

Sham plans to grab 2018 by the horns and will continue to develop his ever-expanding portfolio of dynamic, eye catching imagery, looking at ways to push himself and his subjects further.

Watch this space to see what Sham gets up to!

Sven Hoffmann is a Berlin-based sport, music and people photographer.

Capturing captivating frames is what he is all about. He has worked for Under Armour, Beats by Dre, Samsung, MTV, Nike and more and has shot bands such as Billy Idol, Queens of the Stone Age and The BossHoss.

His all time favourite; working twice with Dennis Hopper.

Willie Petersen is an award-winning advertising and editorial photographer based in Denver, Colorado. He worked as an art director in New York City for over a decade before transitioning to his true passion, photography.

Willie’s bold use of colour and dynamic lighting has given life to many international ad campaigns. He loves to collaborate with clients and work to make their wildest ideas come to life.

Wojtek Rudzki is a Warsaw-based photographer, operating worldwide. His work documents the natural movement, personality and striking elegance of athletes, the inherent connection between their effort and beauty.

Wojtek relentlessly pursues the perfect moment of each run, exercise, dance or competition. In each person he’s looking for a story that wants to be told. In his experience, the most effective way to reach this goal is to have an open mind and confidence in his models.

He has worked with Olympic athletes, football players, fitness instructors, dancers and influencers. Among the companies that have trusted his instincts are Nike, TMobile, Aztorin, 4F, Poste Italiane, Durex, Daimler AG, Jack Daniels and Finlandia Vodka.

In photo shoots Wojtek seeks adventure, new challenges, and the opportunity to extend boundaries. But first and foremost, he meets extraordinary people who inspire further development.