"Stay Inspired" is a weekly post on my Facebook Page where I share the work of an inspirational photographer or artist every Thursday. I've been doing this every week since 2013, so there is now a vast number of outstanding creatives from all genres and disciplines that we've looked at over the years. In fact I’ve been doing it so long now that even I’ve forgotten some of these great artists so why not try and collate them all into one place for not only myself but for you as well.
This is the second compilation, so if you missed the first one and are interested in an inspiration overload, here’s the link to the previous one Stay Inspired - Inspirational work from 10 Photographers and Artists 001
These new posts will look at a collection of 10 artists each and they should prove to be an excellent resource for not only inspiration but motivation as well. With each artist shared, I will include a short overview of their work including things to consider and look at whilst on their portfolio.
Please bear in mind that these opinions are mine and as such, very subjective. I could just share a link but I believe a more personal point of view of another artists work may be of more value to you over simply stating their name and age for example. But this does mean you may not always agree with me and I would encourage that. Art is subjective and like music, the best art does not appeal to everybody.
Inspirational Work from 10 Photographers and Artists 002
If we were playing 'Photographer Top Trumps' and I had the Elizaveta Porodina card, you would loose!
Prepare to be demoralised and inspired by this outstanding fashion photographer from Russia.
Porodina is seemingly obsessed with reflections and colour harmonies and can think of no other who displays them better. Although beauty is throughout her portfolio, an ability to see in a variety of different ways is real skill in and of itself. So what with the stunning contrast and colours throughout this portfolio and an ability to see images that others don’t, you have a style that is both perfectly executed as well as seemingly raw and spontaneous. This is why Porodina’s work is one of my all times favourites to this day and certainly deserved of your time and attention without hesitation.
I love this guys style as it’s pretty eclectic, just the way I like it! Aaron Feaver is like any self respecting fashion photographer who likes flare in their shots he's based in L.A. and like Aaron's style, his port is a jumble of campaigns, looks and eras and it’s actually quite refreshing to see somebodies work laid out like this. There’s no stories, no campaigns, no real discernible order, just great image after great image which is actually pretty engaging to look through. Head on over to his site and check it out for yourselves.
Bulgarian born Georgi Andinov fashion photography shows a stunning mastery of technical lighting, and for somebody who says they've only been shooting since 2011 his work is outstanding. This link takes you to his Instagram as his site is no longer available. His Instagram shows a huge range of work but scroll back a little way and you’ll see some his earlier fashion work and if you like that, I strongly urge you to simply Google image search his work to as some of it most certainly worth your time.
Portuguese Fashion Photographer Frederico Martins' work is phenomenal. Period. He's currently working out of London UK and is regularly featured in every big name glossy you can name. Flawless attention to detail with lighting as well as impeccable post production (granted not all of this is done by him these days) means that every shoot he does is very bold and very clean. Go check him out
For our inspiration this week we head to the far east for some super clean fashion and editorial work from Shanghai based Stockton Johnson. For the curious among you its worth finding and trawling through his blog to check out some of the more glamourous behind the scenes shots.
London based Jenny Brough has some outstanding fashion and beauty shots over on her port. She has a super crisp style but isn’t afraid to make things a little interesting with her use of old films and lenses, especially with her Polaroid work.
Head on over and don't forget to check her Facebook page which has some more recent conceptual work.
Swedish born Camilla Akrans has a phenomenal body of work spanning many different photographic styles. Here she is showcased by one of Sweden's foremost agencies, LundLund. We are very privileged to have access to such a huge amount of her work here and Ive linked directly to the editorial section where most of it can be found. Take the time to spend the time as I assure you it’ll be time well spent.
Chuan do and Frey are a rare duo of outstanding fashion photographers. They are currently based in Asia and their clients span Louis Vuitton, Harpers, Levi's and many charities such as Action for Aids and Breast Cancer. Check out their work and see the eclectic and inspirational nature of working with another so closely for so many years.
An Le is a Vietnamese born US based photographer who has a huge amount of content on his site http://www.anlestudio.com His style although editorial in presentation is firmly based in the conceptual realm and in an Interview with MODA mag last year,( http://www.modamagsg.com/?p=161) the 23 year old describes the influences that have shaped his work (that’s right, I said 23 year old!) :O
Here I wanted to showcase somebody who personifies what it means to be a great editorial photographer. New York born Victor Demarchelier has been shooting for the big name glossies for…. well, ever and his photography is as refined as comes. If you look through his work you will notice that his lighting is impeccable, granted he's not breaking the mould artistically but this refinement in lighting is often lost on newer photographers as they dive into the sea of fancy lighting modifiers, adding blues to the shadows in post and finishing up with some artificial grain. There's nothing wrong with this but I think it’s also worth taking the time to study others like Victor and see what they define as important in an image.
Look at the nose shadows, crisp catch-lights in the eyes and most importantly lighting the clothes perfectly in the process. Those photographers seeking agency representation will have to master and showcase this mastery of light long before they take interest in a portfolio of blurry bums solely shot at f1.8. I hope you enjoy his work.
Closing Comments
As with all of my posts, I welcome your comments and thoughts on the artists I've shared here. Although all of the photographers and creatives I've mentioned above come from my own personal tastes and appreciations, I still feel they are all incredibly varied, which ultimately means there will be at least one persons work here that you'll love.
Granted we've really only looked at 'people' photographers here including, portraits, fashion and editorial shooters with none of the other photographic genres being covered, but it's still incredible to me as to how varied this single discipline can be.
I think one of the core things I want you to take away from this series is how another person interprets their subject into a photograph. Sure you can simply reverse engineer the lighting or copy a pose of an image but I hope you take away a lot more than simply the mechanics of a photograph.
Look at their style and see how that is impacting their work for the better. Look for similarities in pose, expression, subject, lighting, theme and colour. All of these things play a role in any image and by appreciating that in others work we can be better equipped to express it into our own images.
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If you liked this article and would be interested in more posts like this in the future, please feel free to sign up to my monthly newsletter. I publish one of these articles every week and each month I collect them all up and send them directly to your inbox just in case you missed one. Signing up now also get's you my free 10 page pdf on Studio Lighting Tips and Techniques. Jake Hicks Photography - Newsletter
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