One of the world’s most famous and celebrated fashion photographers, German-born Ellen von Unwerth specialises in playful, erotic images. She has shot many of the world’s top female pop stars, actors and models, including Claudia Schiffer, Britney Spears, Madonna, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. Her photographs are usually fun, and invariably push boundaries. She is famously popular in the fashion industry and with models, many of whom find her photos ‘empowering’. She was a fashion model herself for 10 years, before becoming a photographer. As well as fashion photography she’s shot album covers and directed short films for fashion designers and music videos.
Her photographic books include Snaps (1994), Wicked (1999), Revenge (2003), Omahyra and Boyd (2005), Fraulein (2009), the Story of Olga (2012) and Heimat (2017), and she has displayed her work in exhibitions around the world, including in Paris, New York, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai and many other cities.
British-born Rankin is one of the world’s best-known photographers and synonymous with compelling portraiture. His subjects have included the Queen of England as well as the queens of fashion and pop. In addition to Vivienne Westwood and Adele, he’s shot David Bowie, Daniel Craig, Idris Elba – and many other celebrities, usually in intimate or playful ways. He first came to prominence in the early 1990s. Immersed with bands, artists, supermodels and politicians, over the years Rankin’s images have become part of contemporary iconography. Rankin co-founded seminal magazine Dazed & Confused, and publishes bi-annual magazine Hunger. He has created landmark editorial and advertising campaigns, and has published more than 30 books. His work is also exhibited in galleries around the world.
One of motorsport’s pre-eminent photographers, Darren Heath specialises in Formula One. His distinctive visual style has been credited with changing the way F1 is photographed. Darren was a pioneer in making motor sport photography more visually arresting and artistic, using natural light and colour to their maximum effects. In recognition of his work, the Royal Photographic Society awarded him its prestigious Honorary Fellowship in 2005.
Heath has worked with many commercial clients including Rolex, Pirelli, UBS, Philip Morris, Vodafone and Heineken, and for many magazines and newspapers such as Car, Top Gear, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph and Condé Nast Traveller.
Bryan Adams is both a world-renowned musician and a photographer. Now one of the world’s best selling music artists, he shot to fame with hit singles such as Run To You and Summer of ’69, and his music has won Grammys and been nominated for Golden Globe and Academy awards. His photographic work over the years includes shoots for German, British, Spanish and Russian Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue, Interview magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. In 2003, he co-founded Zoo magazine in Berlin and he released his first book of photos Exposed in 2012. His second book Wounded – The Legacy of War was released in the autumn of 2013. His latest book, Untitled, featured black and white abstract images and was published by Steidl in early 2017.
Ontario-born Bryan was awarded the Order of Canada for his contributions to music and philanthropy, and was inducted into the Hollywood walk of fame in 2011.
Kristian Schuller is a New York and Berlin based photographer. Born in Romania, Kristian emigrated with his family at an early age to Germany. He studied fashion design with Vivienne Westwood and photography with the legendary German fashion photographer FC Gundlach at the University of Fine Arts Berlin. After his initial introduction by editor Isabella Blow to Condé Nast Publications in London, Kristian has continued working internationally with various fashion magazines, commercial clients and on personal projects. His published books include 90 Days One Dream (2010) and Tales for Oskar (2014). He has had photographic exhibitions in Paris, Brussels, Krakow, Miami and Hamburg.
London-born Jason Bell decided on a career as a portrait photographer while studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, from which he graduated in 1990. His work has since appeared in many of the world’s foremost publications including Vanity Fair and Vogue in the US and UK, featuring celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson, Johnny Depp, Natalie Portman, David Beckham, Nicole Kidman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig. The National Portrait Gallery in London has acquired many of Jason’s photographs for its permanent collection.
His work has received much critical acclaim and he has been the recipient of many awards including the Royal Photographic Society’s Terence Donovan Award for an outstanding contribution to photography, the New York Photo Awards’ Best Advertising Image and the Best British Black & White Photographer at the British Picture Editors’ Awards.
He has published four books, the most recent being An Englishman in New York. A selection of photographs from the book was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Dutch filmmaker, designer and photographer Anton Corbijn has a rich history working with artists from many different fields. He has been responsible for much of the visual output of U2 and Depeche Mode over the last 35 years, and has also worked with individuals as diverse as Miles Davis, Clint Eastwood, Gerard Richter, Kate Moss and Nelson Mandela. Anton says the world at large is his studio, and he prefers to shoot outdoors. His work invariably appears as photo documentary and is directed in that way. He was a prominent and pioneering music video director in the 1980s and ’90s before becoming a successful film director: his films include A Most Wanted Man, Control and The American, a thriller starring George Clooney. He now divides his time between photography and filmmaking.
Greg White’s work reveals a love of function and mystery combined in the graphic elements of architecture and landscape. He is inspired by repetitions of form in space. An unflinching modernism and cool detachment inflects all his images, in the bright whites of superwatt bulbs and in light-filled landscapes. Greg’s often-heroic portraits show sitters in context and in moments of reflection. He thrives on problem-solving and developing creative ideas. His unassuming approach is based around simplicity, shape and structure. Greg lives in London but works internationally. Notable awards include the prestigious AOP Photographer of the Year, ADC Young Gun in New York and most recently he was awarded IPA First Place for an automotive campaign.
Anton Watts’ early career in fashion photography, combined with a lifelong passion for cars, has shaped his approach to collaborating with the world’s most desirable automotive brands on images that are sculptural and modern. He is best known for showcasing performance, design and technology in dynamic colour. Born in Australia, Anton spent 10 years in London where he forged a formidable reputation as both a commercial and editorial car photographer. He then moved to Los Angeles where he lives by the ocean with his family. He is equally comfortable in the epic landscapes and intense urban environments of his shoots and strives for authentic, natural work. ‘The key is in creating a fi nal image that feels unretouched.’
Chinese photographer and visual artist Chen Man has created a unique language that has revolutionised fashion photography in China. Her dramatic digitally mastered images have won many international awards and global recognition. Her work has been exhibited around the world, including in France, United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan and Hong Kong. Her iconic and visually arresting The Astronaut is part of the permanent collection at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) museum in London.
The Beijing-born artist has photographed Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Nicole Kidman, Keanu Reeves, Sophie Marceau and many other top celebrities for the covers of Chinese versions of Vogue, Grazia, Elle and others. She has also produced advertising campaigns for global brands such as Shiseido, Adidas, Nike, Beats, Hublot and Guess.
Nick Knight is among the world’s most influential and visionary image makers. As a fashion photographer, he has consistently challenged conventional notions of beauty and is fêted for his groundbreaking collaborations with leading designers including Yohji Yamamoto, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. He has enjoyed long-standing creative relationships with Björk, Massive Attack, Lady Gaga and Kanye West and has undertaken advertising campaigns for the clients such as Christian Dior, Lancôme, Levi Strauss and Nike, as well as award-winning editorial work for W, Vogue in Britain and America, and i-D.
His first book of photographs, Skinhead, was published in 1982. He has since produced two retrospective books Nicknight 1993 and Nick Knight in 2009 as well as Flora in 1997. In 2010 Nick was awarded an OBE for his services to the Arts and then in 2016 was commissioned to take the only ever official photograph of the Queen and Prince Charles.
His work has been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum, Saatchi Gallery, National Portrait Galley, La Maison Européenne de la Photographie and Tate Modern. Nick launched his award-winning fashion website SHOWstudio.com in 2000.