FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY Nov 2016

Fashion, portrait and artistic photographer Alexander Popelier lives and works from his photo studio in Ghent, Belgium. With an ever-present eye for light and pose, he is able to conceptualise wide-ranging ideas, yet always with a recognisable signature.

One of the characteristic features of this distinctive style lies in his capacity to capture the in-between moments: being technically gifted, the beauty of his images lies not only in the timeless depiction of models in their surroundings, but also in spontaneity. As a result, his work stands out from clichéd images yet is still capable of accomplishing a commercially successful result.

Alexander is a creative mind who carries his fondness for picture making close to him at all times. Alongside his fashion and portrait work he has an elaborate personal portfolio, wherein he breaks the rules of his commercial work and seeks a more unrestricted type of photography.

Alexandra Tremaine is a fashion and lifestyle photographer based in the outskirts of New York City. Since a young age Alexandra has appreciated the way light can change to dramatically alter a scene. In high school she picked up her first film camera and she was hooked. She loved learning about light, testing it, and seeing what the world looked like through the lens. She enrolled and completed her education at the Brooks Institute for Professional Photography with an emphasis in Advertising.

Alexandra aims to capture the world in a simple yet beautiful way. She strives to denote a natural feeling, both in expression and setting, achieving high quality lifestyle photography.

When Alexandra isn’t on assignment or running her photography business she can be seen on the beaches or in the woods of Connecticut with her daughter Izzy and dog Luna.

Awarded 'Digital Portrait Photographer of the Year' by Digital Photographer Magazine in 2011, Bahraini photographer Ali Sharaf captures fashion through his lens and creates stories with every click. His photos, which revolve around lifestyle advertising and editorials, can be easily spotted around the streets of Bahrain.

With clients across the Arabian Gulf, Ali’s current dream is to expand internationally and reach high-end publications. "What I love about fashion is that it keeps changing. And that fast pace pushes me to improve and adapt new techniques in order to catch up," he says. He also hopes to take photography in Bahrain to a higher level by combining Bahraini culture with others to produce something quite unique.

Ali studied photography in Manchester in 2008. “From someone who didn't know too much about lighting and fashion, he has developed into a top fashion photographer pushing his limits at every shoot," Brett Harkness, fashion and social photographer, UK.

Appurva Shah of Blu Studios is a passionate photographer who has worked on catalogues, lookbooks, campaigns, editorials and covers for labels and brands such as Cotton World, Max Retails, Raymond’s, Diesel, Reliance Brands and more. Appurva is also currently the official photographer of Elite Model Look Paris for India.

Most recently he has worked as a creative producer on projects like Tata Cliq and Bangalore Fashion Week, Maude Vivante, A la mode and more.

Appurva easily adapts to any style of photography, from street style and outdoor fashion shoots to studio environments. He loves a challenge and enjoys the excitement of handling complex shoots against the clock.

Another aspect is his love of making documentaries and fashion films with a very candid style. He has a fully equipped studio based in lower-parel Mumbai with an equipped editing team for a perfect finished product.

Beate Hansen is a Dusseldorf-based photographer with her own studio, well known for her pure and timeless, sensual and emotional images and for finding the truly magic moment between camera and model.

Thanks to Beate and her team’s many years of experience, clients always appreciate the results of her excellent teamwork and the professional development of photo productions in a very relaxed atmosphere.

Beate has worked in numerous worldwide locations for German and international fashion designers, brands and campaigns such as Jil Sander, Joop, Marc Cain, Lareida, Parenti's Cashmere, L'Oréal, Schwarzkopf, Mercedes, Cotton USA and Phonak. Her work has also been published in magazines such as Stern, Harper's Bazaar, L'Officiel, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and many more.

Her next upcoming project is a new fashion shoot for Sem Per Lei, a client for 20 years! As a professional BFF-member she will also be participating in an exhibition at the Dusseldorf Photo Weekend 2017 in February.

Born in Spain, Carlos Lumiere was greatly influenced at a young age by his father's work as a photographer. In 1989 Carlos moved to Miami to work as photographer for a Spanish press agency, and it was here that he decided to devote his career and life to high-fashion photography. A devotion to photography jettisoned him to cities around the world, allowing Carlos to develop a stunning and diverse portfolio.

His photos are best known for blending classic lines with luscious colours and textures. His style is rich, emotive and dynamic. It's this that attracts high-profile fashion designers, advertising campaigns and magazines to work with him, including Harrods, Hackett, Vivienne Westwood, Valore, Royal Ascot, L’Oréal, Balenciaga, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, FHM and GQ.

Carlos now divides his time between his studio Lumiere London, working for his own magazine Fashiopolis, and searching for his next great shoot.

"The shots featured in this Spotlight are all from a shoot I did at the end of the summer for Yumi Kim. They wanted to shoot in the city but didn't want the imagery to be too 'hard'.

At first I was thinking about finding architectural elements that would soften the city; rounded stone edges, wooden elements, curves and arcs. When I saw the dresses were mostly beautiful floral and botanical prints I pitched the idea of shooting on the High Line. The array of flora there would compliment the prints perfectly and it's a great way to shoot in the city but be able to 'soften' it at the same time.

I scouted the week before we shot, looking for specific places for each piece we were shooting. I worked to find places that would compliment each piece while at the same time creating visual consistency to the entire story and allowing me to achieve the goal of being in the city but in a 'soft' way."

Conor Doherty lives in Brooklyn and works all over the world.

Harry Vorsteher is an award-winning fashion, beauty and kids photographer based in Dusseldorf and working for clients worldwide. His portfolio boasts works for the biggest advertising agencies such as McCann Erickson Hamburg, BBDO, Ogilvy, renowned brands like Nissan, Bosch, Audi, MEXX, Sony and editorials like Elle Germany, In Fashion and Men Style, among others.

Taking natural and individual images is Harry's main motivation. His results are characterised by a unique sensitivity and creativity in which he strives for the perfect moment, captured in that one picture.

Visit his website to see more his works and for more information.

Irene Sekulic is a fashion and portrait photographer. She is based in the South of Spain, in Marbella.

Irene is naturally attracted to beauty in all its forms. She is always looking for a feeling to capture through the lens. She produces campaigns and editorials for magazines, brands and boutiques.

In her career Irene has photographed Bianca Balti, Tallia Storm, Evangelina Anderson, Martin Demichelis among others, and has worked for Glamour Hunter, Faräh, Elle Morgan, Queen of Queens Marbella, Society Magazine, Morozka and Vogue Italia.

James Lightbown is a photographer and director specialising in luxury lifestyle, lingerie and swimwear. 2016 has been a busy year for James, shooting for regular clients in London with some exciting international assignments including South Africa and Dubai, as well as working on some new personal projects.

Creating luxurious and aspirational images but always with a desire for authenticity, James’s work has a feel of sophistication and old fashioned glamour.

James is represented by August Management.

Visit his website to see more of his work.

It has been a busy year for Jason Capobianco in both still photography and also his video and documentary work. With social media becoming a big and fast paced video platform for short film, Jason has been working with his creative partner and wife Grace Lam (ex Vogue China fashion style editor) on some fun films for Christian Louboutin, Lane Crawford and Landmark Mandarin Oriental, and Porsche Hong Kong.

On top of all this, Jason has had time to shoot Justin Beiber for WWD, Chinese singer and uber creative Dadawa for the cover of Sotheby’s Magazine and lend a bright and upbeat view of Hong Kong to Madame Figaro Japan for Bottega Veneta.

He even managed to make another documentary film with five Australian artists for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy as they make an enormous impact in keeping the country’s wildlife off the endangered species lists.

Jesus Cordero is an advertising, fashion and beauty photographer who has worked around the world for 12 years, living in Milan, Paris, LA and New York. His work has been published in magazines including Vogue Mexico and Latinoamerica, Elle Portugal, L'Officiel Greece and Vanity Fair Germany.

Jesus has worked for brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Armani and has shot celebrities including Adrien Brody, Eva Longoria, Gloria Estefan, Rafael Nadal and Carolina Herrera, as well as models Bar Refaeli, Camila Alves, Valentina Zelyaeva and Lindsey Wixson.

Jon Moe left after one year of college to go to Italy where he worked with Gianni Versace and Valentino as well as many other fashion leaders. He has been working in Europe and the US for the past 20 years.

He understands the strength and purpose of the still image and has helped many clients use the right type of imagery to double and even triple their business. His work has helped companies win awards in their fields and even dominate the market over their competitors.

Jon has a passion for making things work better and works hard to find just the right kind of image to make the right impact. He is fascinated by the psychology and marketing of imagery and how best to use it to advantage. He is often hired as the art director as well as the photographer and says that the trick to his success is "to make more money for the client so that by working with him they actually save money."

Kelsey Wilhm is a seasoned veteran of embodying the water lifestyle. Swimwear is her way of bringing together H2O and fashion. With the water as Kelsey’s muse, she finds magic in outfits by the sea. Whether underwater or air drying, her photographs tell a story.

Making her own mark in the fashion world, Kelsey is starting her own swimwear label Saturdays & Sundaes, launching November of this year. Influenced by the backdrops of her images, Kelsey’s swimsuits don’t distract from the views, but rather complement them. She is the designer, creative director and - naturally - the photographer for the brand.

Louay Nasser is a Cairo-based photographer and video producer shooting editorial and advertising work. Louay specialises in fashion, beauty, food and underwater photography - a field he passionately explores.

Seeking creative scenarios to interact with his subjects, Louay creates strong narratives permeated by suggestive lighting and a still, conscious tone.

He recently worked with a range of high profile international names and brands such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, UM, The European Union, The British Council, PRS USA, ABB USA, OKHTEIN and Devoto Atelier Ecuador, in addition to catering for his clients’ needs in photography and post-production.

His latest work has been featured in Elle Spain, Wolf & Badger and other fashion publications in Spain, Revista Hogar Ecuador, and several fashion magazines in Egypt. Trying to set a new standard, Louay passionately sets new boundaries in the Egyptian fashion scene.

It’s been an eventful summer for Marcus Hoffmann since he teamed up with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May to create a format on DriveTribe.com to combine fashion and automotive content. To form the ideal basis on which his #fashion section is going to be run, the editorial director handled concept, production and photography - as well as text production - all by himself. Rumour has it he somehow didn’t go completely mad! Marcus is also looking for new international representation.

While continuing his day-to-day fashion photography, Marcus managed to pull off 12 big content productions with various car makers and fashion brands all over Europe for DT. He cut down production lead times of 6-18 months to three weeks. Getting the marketing experts of both worlds to agree on a single concept and approve the final output turned out to be surprisingly difficult, yet extremely rewarding creative work.

Coming soon - some love from Phase One, since they get along brilliantly with Marcus!

Born and raised in the Netherlands, Amsterdam based Marnix Postma grew up on basketball, hip-hop and graffiti.

Marnix has a passion for expressing the distinct DNA of the brands and personalities he works with.

Visit his website for more information.

Rachel Jeraffi is a bi-coastal fashion, beauty and portrait photographer based out of LA and NYC.

"I am passionate about what I do and am committed to delivering strong professional images in a fun and creative environment. I love the challenges of bringing out the client’s vision and working together to create magic! My style has been defined by clients as: upscale, classy, clean, couture, ethereal... with a retro feel (but who needs definitions?)"

Publications include L'Officiel, The Huffington Post, LA Times, Genlux, Jute and Beauty Launchpad, to name a few. Celebrity clients include Kobe Bryant, Lou Diamond Phillips, Carlos Mencia, Mario Domm, Keyshawn Johnson, Jacob Vargas, Greg Nicotero and Chandler Kinney.

Düsseldorf-based fashion photographer Sebastian Brüll loves shooting on location as well as in the studio.

Featured in this Spotlight is a selection of images he shot for iMUTE and Lucy's Magazine, as well as a campaign he shot for Margittes.

His new website is now online showing a wider range of his portfolio.