STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY Nov 2012

An orchestrated array of firing synapses are tirelessly at work in Benton's brain on any still life, product or digital film assignment handed to him. He's happy only when his clients are delighted.

His clients, including Coke and Pepsi, Sony, Miller Brewing, Toshiba, Colgate/Palmolive and Stuart Weitzman have all turned to Benton to produce memorable images for them. Benton has worked with many top agencies including McCann-Erickson, BBDO, Hill Holiday, Bates, and Hakuhodo.

His latest digital film offering is a brief look at Halloween in a small Brooklyn NY neighborhood: The Beautiful Crazy.

Classic Pix is a leading high-end photographic and retouching studios based in Central London, creating high quality images that sell products and brands.

The company specialise in still life, liquids and advertising photography. Creating stunning imagery by combining real life and special effects with its excellent in-house retouching team, Classic Pix generates the highest quality images which endorse the quality and detail of all the products it shoots.

Classic Pix provides clients with a creative, hassle-free and friendly service that leads to a lot of repeat business.

Clients include M&S, HSBC, Debenhams, Hunter Boots, Fosters, Dune, Duchamp London, CBS, Br&Me, TAG, Tripp and Motorola.

David Parfitt's recent projects have included photographing cosmetics for No7, Max Factor, Space NK and Body Shop International, cutlery and glassware for John Lewis department stores, hats for Stephen Jones - and lots more.

All have been shot in his Central London studio.

Visit his new website to see more of David’s images.

Whether he is shooting a computer or a lipstick, still life photographer Dennis Pedersen displays his unique (and often quirky) creative personality through his work, making him a valued favourite to those in the know.

From his studio in Hoxton, where he offers a one-stop service complete with in-house retoucher (not to mention a nice lunch), Dennis uses his individual and highly professional technique alongside new and innovative ways of shooting, therefore ensuring his clients keep one step ahead of the competition.

Well known in the beauty market, 2012 has been a very busy year, with shoots for Clinique, Max Factor, Revlon, Nokia...

Dyad Photography shoots commercially as well as creating conceptual series.

Commercially, Dyad Photography is Colleen Picciotti. She went to school at RIT, which led her to NYC to work with Irving Penn. She has since been shooting still life, food and anything that grabs her attention.

Conceptually, Dyad Photography is Colleen and Justin Picciotti. Together, they have been working on creative images for the past nine years. "When an idea starts out calm and controlled, it always develops into something messy."

Visit the website for more information.

Hanover Saffron is a leader in jewellery photography, successfully combining 25 years’ wealth of photographic knowledge with modern day digital technologies. Established in 1983, the company is a fully integrated photography, design and production studio, specialising in jewellery, watches and luxury goods promotion.

Located conveniently in the heart of London’s Hatton Garden, Hanover Saffron Creative is proud to work for the widest range of clients, including Boodles, Mikimoto, Kiki McDonough, Theo Fennell, Platinum Guild and many others.

Berlin still life photographer Jens Bösenberg presents some of his latest work.

• Still life scenes for Architectural Digest magazine. The 'Glamourama' series featured in this Spotlight was created for the German edition and can currently be seen in the Chinese edition. Styling: Thomas Rook and Harald Erath.
• Photos on the theme of table culture in various locations were created for porcelain manufacturer Hering Berlin. Agency: Edenspiekermann.
• Jens put the Pro Chair, designed by Konstantin Grcic, in the spotlight for furniture producer Flötotto. A stylish catalogue was produced in conjunction with communications company Lambl/Homburger.

As ever, all of Jens' work was retouched in-house.

Drawing on his years of experience and with a passion for the finer details, Jörk Hettmann has been photographing still life in his studio located south of Dusseldorf since 1990.

Many renowned companies have shot advertising materials, brochures and billboards at the 400 m² facility, which features a fully equipped studio and extensive lighting equipment, a luxuriant stock of props and everything necessary for all types of successful car photography and corresponding special effects.

Additionally, the studio is optimally equipped for outdoor photography. All the necessary equipment is on hand, from high-end portable computer systems to electric generators. The studio equipment was also recently expanded to include film gear and film editing facilities.

An extensive photo archive supplements the studio's services, as well as in-house post production that covers all areas of electronic image processing, from simple retouching to ready-to-print approved compositions.

Michael Harvey was born in Brazil and lived in Rio de Janeiro until the age of seven, when he was sent to school in the UK. He studied Physics and Astronomy at university, and this scientific background is very much visible in his work - the fascination with collections, the clinical lighting that gives his images an immediately recognisable sleekness and graphic quality. Michael knew straight out of university that his ambitions lay in photography and so he began working as an assistant in a studio that specialised in car photography.

Today, Michael’s studio is firmly embedded in the community of Brixton, an area of south London that has seen an influx of artists, social enterprises, creative agencies and independent shop owners in the last few years - particularly in Brixton Village, just five minutes from the studio. It is not hard to see that the urban and artistic vibrancy of the area contributes to Michael’s creative ideas.

For Nick Nacca, image making isn't capturing a moment in time, it’s several moments combined. He’s a super control freak. Not so much on set, later in a dim room he builds an image from the ground up. Blending, shaping and sculpting with light is at the heart of a vision that creates images that stand out in a world of clutter.

Swedish still life and advertising photographer Niklas Alm started exploring the world of photography as a kid in his parents darkroom. Since 2001 he has been working with both editorial and advertising commissions, winning recognition at the Epica Awards, New York Festivals and Sony World Photography Awards, among others.

His passion for creating interesting environments and images with a character of their own is seen across most of his work, as he mixes his analogue set design with the computer generated.

His clients include international brands such as Adidas, Amnesty, Bosch, Lucky Strike, Toyota and Samsung.

Photographers Tim Schober, Philipp Schneider and Markus Dominitzki have been working successfully in the medium of still life for many years. In February 2008 they opened their high-performance NORDSTERN Studio to handle still life and product photography for major clients.

Comparing NORDSTERN to the composition of a band, the three photographers work together for major clients as well as separately on their own solo projects, all from the new Hamburg-based digital studio.

"The NORDSTERN is a triple star system; in that way it reflects the constellation of the three photographers. Three stars become one to form the brightest star in the northern sky."

With over 20 years' experience in still life photography, Olaf Koester specialises in watches, jewellery, interiors, clothes and accessories.

His studio is located in the south of Bavaria, close to Switzerland and Austria.

Olaf works with international clients and advertising agencies, producing images in the studio and on location. His passion is watch photography and he regularly works for renowned timepiece magazine Chronos.

He handles his own post production including colour management and high-end retouching.

Visit his website for more information.

Phil is a well established London based still life & food photographer, with over 15 years worth of experience, shooting a wide variety of packaging, editorial and advertising commissions.

Please feel free to drop Phil a line if you need any help on a job, he's only too happy to help.

To see his latest work please visit his website.

The images featured in this Spotlight represent a cross-section of Ray Massey's areas of expertise, demonstrating his passion for solving problems, creating illusions and making effects special. His talent has enabled creatives to bring some of their most demanding concepts to life, without sacrificing organic appeal.

Specialising in still life, liquids, special effects and physical artistry, Ray combines real life special effects with his in-house retouching and composing facility to bring to life within a pre-determined budget.

Working out of his 3500 sq. ft. converted church hall studio in Camden, London, over the last 25 years he has acquired an excellent production team around him to ensure that even the most difficult brief is executed to the highest of standards.

Rich Begany is a still life and product photographer working primarily out of his Flatiron area studio in Manhattan. His clients include a range of advertising and design agencies, corporate art departments and magazines.

Recent projects include shoots for Origins and Veria.

See more of Rich’s work at Traffic’s recently re-launched website. To discuss an upcoming project, contact Majka Lamprecht at Traffic Creative Management.

Sara Morris is a London based still life photographer, who works from her studio in N1.

She has been kept busy this year working on some great advertising campaigns, as well as producing some lovely new personal work.

Recent commissions include Barclaycard, Barclays, Esso and Special K.

She works regularly for many of London's top ad and design agencies, including BBH, Adam & Eve DDB, Leo Burnett and Fallon.

Sara is represented by Clare Fletcher.

Check out Sara's new website.

Seventhwall, founded in 2011, offers creative photography, retouching and digital asset management services. The company provides that personalised touch for boutique, niche market businesses seeking to introduce, update or broaden their commercial presence in the local or wider marketplace.