commercial photography

‘Stay Cool is a collection of an entire summer’s worth of images. The idea behind it was not simply to document subjects or happenings but to document the essence of an experience, to try and capture the feelings of youth and freedom and love and summertime and Los Angeles. I think often times the trap of documentary photography is in the waiting. We wait for our subject matter to provide for us, I know I fell into that trap in much of my shooting over this past decade. With this work I felt like there was an opportunity for me to transcend beyond a level of waiting into a level of stimulation, a level of participation, in creating the experiences or creating the jumping off point for the experiences and then capturing the magic that unfolds. In that respect this book and what it means to me has a lot less to do with photography and a lot more to do with life – initiate unique experiences and pursue the magic that results.’

R J Shaughnessy is a Los Angeles based editorial and advertising photographer represented by Giant Artists. This work is from his latest series, Stay Cool, shot around Los Angeles.

Quentin Shih a.k.a Shi Xiaofan is a fine art photographer who focuses on portrait, fashion and commercial photography. Shih started out taking photographs of his musician friends and artists before gradually moving into fashion and commercial photography. He is a self-taught photographer and he currently lives and works between Beijing and New York. His visual style is often dreamy and bleak at the same time, with a focus on storytelling as he believes readers should always read beyond what is seen in a photograph.

This work, Yiwen & Graig, is from a project with fashion designer Liulu for her label Luvon.

This post was contributed by Alice Tay.

Robin Moore is no stranger to wildlife. The Scottish-born photographer’s work has graced the pages of National Geographic Traveler and TIME and he is an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers.

Moore’s latest efforts brought him just outside of Nairobi, Kenya to Giraffe Manor, famous for its resident herd of endangered Rothschild Giraffes. There are actually six species of this long-necked creature, with wild Rothschilds numbering in the low hundreds. The Manor offers the unique experience of rubbing shoulders with the giants as they peek their heads into the hotel dining room to share breakfast with guests.

“… East Africa is my favorite place to shoot on account of the wildlife, the landscapes, and the people,” said Moore. “This seemed to provide an exceptional opportunity to get up close with an endangered species and capture its interaction with people.”

As Moore was shooting the manor for promotional purposes, he made three visits over the course of a year, spending several nights each time. “I tried to capture the Manor ‘as is’ and therefore these were not set up specifically, I merely documented what was happening around me,” said Moore.

It’s common to assume these giants are gentle, as they approach people through the windows of the hotel quite casually. But if the barrier of the hotel walls are removed, guests are advised to proceed with caution as the giraffes can play rough. “They are fairly well habituated to people,” said Moore, “but you have to respect them as wild animals.” Moore pushed the limits a few times to get a shot, and was chased around a tree and nearly head-butted. “It was only funny because he missed,” said Moore.

This post was contributed by Feature Shoot editorial intern Jennifer Kaye.

This work is from a campaign for chinaware brand Mateus. The set designer, Anton Thorsson, and I got free rein to create the concept for the campaign. The environments are all made of paper and we wanted to create a dreamlike feeling to them which we enhanced by using smoke as fog.

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; creating interesting environments and images with a character of their own.

Kevin Twomey is a commercial photographer based in San Francisco. Twomey’s use of light comes from a background in theatrical lighting, where he learned the ability to control light to set the mood and evoke emotion. He further developed his creative eye studying fine art photography at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Twomey delights in raising the most mundane of objects to an iconic level. This selection of images are from his ‘Low Tech’ series.

This post was contributed by photographer Andi Vollmer.

Will Sanders is a commercial and fine art photographer living and working in North London, England. His versatile and whimsical photos contain a quirkiness that is rich in both humor and vibrant color. He has worked with Audi, IKEA, and VW as well as publications such as, Nylon, Esquire, and the British Journal of Photography.

Liam Sharp splits his time shooting for editorial and commercial clients in Canada and the UK. Born in London, Liam moved to Toronto as a child and has leveraged his dual citizenship to build a career in both places. His new micro-site focuses on his series of drag queens taken backstage at various clubs in the village, during and after drag shows across Toronto. Interestingly enough, Liam has grappled with the release of them: ‘I’m afraid to send them out. I don’t want to be known as the drag queen photographer. The dilemma of a commercial photographer’s struggle, especially in Canada, is that Canadians are so literal. Internationally, the depth and range of what is accepted is so much greater. It’s understood that it’s not me that these pictures represent, rather, an interesting plot that’s graphic and photographic’.

He describes this experience as being in the trenches and how it put him right out of his comfort zone (he’s a married man of 25 years, with two adult kids). ‘I had to convince myself they were women. I told them how beautiful they were and gave them everything they wanted’. They in return gave Liam what he wanted. And then some. After one shoot, (the woman in the fluffy white collar), grabbed him by the shoulders and kissed him square on the lips. These intimate portraits of people straining to assert their identities are remarkably fresh and layered. All the subtext of their life struggles are brushed upon, and the moment at which these images are captured hits their strength.

Boone Speed is a professional photographer based in Portland, Oregon. Highly regarded for his painterly photographic aesthetic and minimalist sensibilities, Speed has been singled out by establishments like Patagonia, Nike, National Geographic Adventure and Nixon to help tell their stories. Boone’s photographs have been the subject of editorial and commercial campaigns, ranging from adventure travel essays and action sports exclusives, to intimate portraiture and fine art. Boone is also a principle architect in the evolution of the sport of rock climbing.

So you end up in some pretty insane situations geographically speaking, and otherwise. What’s the deal?
‘Just lucky I guess (laughs). I’ve actually spent most of my life exploring insane places around the globe, both as a photographer and also as a climber looking for unclimbed rock formations. You could say that I have a pretty unique skill-set for adventurous kind of work. So yeah, I’ve been to a lot of places that most people have never even heard of. I just returned from an exploratory trip to rural Venezuela to evaluate climbing potential there, which is amazing actually (cover story September issue of Rock And Ice).

What’s the most afraid you’ve ever been with a camera in your hand?
‘Ha, that’s a tricky one because it might not be what you’d expect. But what immediately comes to mind is when I was shooting Chris Sharma on his epic climb of Jumbo Love (at 5.15b, it’s considered the hardest rock climb in the world). I was suspended like a spider in a web of ropes about 200′ off the ground, strung out away from the climb about 80 feet, bouncing and spinning upside down to get what I wanted. That was disconcerting and frightening because I had plenty of time to think. and the consequences of falling hundreds of feet into talus were obvious. But that’s mostly mind over matter. Just breathe and k.i.t. But in reality, the most real danger I’ve been in was probably when I was shooting Conrad Anker on that melting ice pillar in Yellowstone, National Park (shown here). Three different avalanches came down on us that day and the whole 4,000 foot slab of wet snow above us was threatening to cut loose, which would’ve been certain death. So we had to move quickly and precisely. And look, it was totally worth it, right? (laughs) But it’s weird. That day we were all in the moment, doing our job and I never felt threatened, actually. That’s just the nature of it. And somebody’s got to do it!’

You’re living in a world without digital archiving. The house is on fire. You can save one photograph. Describe it for us.
‘Oh man, gotta grab the shot of my boy building dribble castles on the beach in Mexico. That one’s for me’.

Most of the photographs featured here have shown up as covers or editorial features. Yet you’re still arguably best known as an athlete (rock climber). Is this significant to you?
‘Well, at least I’m known (laughs). You know, I’m just grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had. I’ll leave it at that’.

When does the act of taking pictures become art?
‘Well, art is beyond just snapping a perfect frame. I believe art is craft plus vision. In the case of photography, it’s understanding the process and being fluent with the equipment, constructing and then deconstructing the process, breaking rules, adding textures and colors and seeing unique angles. It’s adapting selective focus techniques and knowing when to overexpose or underexpose in a way that transforms a shot and captures the moment perfectly. Making that moment extraordinary’.

What’s inspired you lately to the point of doing something about it?
‘I’m inspired by everything. Especially the impossible, like getting the impossible shot or climbing the impossible route. Sometimes I’ll just get inspired to shoot in horrible light, just to see if I can shoot a photograph that shows beautifully just how horrible the light is. Does that make any sense? This is something I learned from my father as we were driving across the desert one day when I was about eight years old. When I looked out the window into the hot sun, at the sagebrush against the desolate scorched backdrop, and I commented about how ugly it was, my Dad said, “You’re just not paying attention son. Look at all the colors in the sky, the purples and the oranges”. And then he related it back to how one of his favorites, C.M. RusselI, had the ability to capture all that beauty in his paintings. I’ll never forget that. I think since that day, I’ve tried to see, and capture the beauty, or at least its essence, in all things’.

You’ve mentioned on multiple occasions over the years that you’ll consider any gig, and that you’ll ‘get the shot’. What about that? Seems a mighty high bar?
‘This relates back to the last question. I guess I’m saying, “present me with an interesting challenge, and we’ll try to make it happen”. I love shooting. I consider myself lucky every day because I can actually make a living doing it. I devoted many years of my life to climbing, in pursuit of the impossible in that realm, without making any money. So I’d shoot even if I didn’t make money at it. But fortunately I do (laughs). But here’s an example: I’m the house photographer for the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland. It’s an opportunity to shoot great music in a dark club. It’s always a fun challenge to get a good shot in there. And hey, I enjoy every minute. In fact, I’d probably spend money to see most of what I shoot there. But yeah, it’s definitely not about the money (laughs). Oh no, I do it because I love it’.