Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is a fashion photographer who had a boyhood fascination with beauty, rather than playing with toys, he would draw women inspired from magazines such as 'Vogue' or 'Harpers Bazaar'. This is an interest that has transferred into his work.
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Originally Meisel was illustrator, first for Halston, and then for Women's Wear Daily. When he no longer wanted to stay at WWD, he got a camera, taught himself how to take photographs. He was influenced by photographers such as Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Jerry Schatzberg and Bert Stern.
He often works in a studio with artificial lighting and a single subject such as one model in his photographs as he likes to "focus on one personality." His work is usually quite raunchy but still tasteful. Meisel stated that one of his 'shocking' Calvin Klein ads using swimsuits on young boys "got so much grief from conservatives."
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Nadav Kander
Nadav Kander is an internationally renowned (for his portraiture and landscapes) commercial artist. He was influenced by artists that took photos that appeared to resonate a former version of themselves. In his own words, Kander explains, "I began to look deeply at the work of Strand, Stieglitz, Weston and Atget, all of which resonated the feeling that each artist was exploring their respective lives."
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In October 2009 Kander was announced as the winner of the prestigious Prix Pictet 'Earth' 2009 for his Yangtze - The Long River series.He was named International Photographer of the Year at the 7th Annual Lucie Awards in 2009 and has also received awards from Art Director’s Club and IPA in the USA
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His work is admirable largely due to the extraordinary yet subtle use of colour and light, particularly in his portraits.
Sølve Sundsbø
Sølve Sundsbø is a fashion known particularly for his 'fantastical images that defy belief'. He believes in how "impactful visual effects [can be] achieved through manipulation of light only, rather than tech-wizardry." Meaning his technique and tricks heavily rely on manipulation and use of light rather than the likes of Photoshop.
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"If I've got a style," says Sundsbo, "it's that I've got no style," says Sundsbo. In his early days he believed in embracing in almost every photographic technique going, from X-rays and 3-D scanning to hi-tech manipulation. However despite his versatility, it's easy to spot a Sundsbo image due to the fact that his images appear to have been digitally altered when they have not.
Richard Avedon
Richard Avedon is a fashion photographer best known, however, for his arresting, black-and-white and often large-format portraits of people. He played an essential role in the idea that there is often an underlying narrative and that photography wasn't simply about selling a product, but rather it was the overall spirit of the image that the viewer desired. Avedon made his subjects appear to be living, moving, imperfect beings however beautiful.
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A great lesson he was able to teach photographers worldwide is that a photograph is more about the photographer than the subject. Meaning, it's how the photographer interprets a scene and what they choose to do with it is what creates the shot, rather than simply what they are photographing. Avedon States,“The photographer has complete control, the issue is a moral one and it is complicated. Everyone comes to the camera with a certain expectation and the deception on my part is that I might appear to be indeed part of their expectation. If you are painted or written about, you can say: but that’s not me, that’s Bacon, that’s Soutine; that’s not me, that’s Celine.”
Peter Lindbergh
Peter Linbergh is a fashion photographer with an elegant, emotive and cinematic aesthetic. Lindbergh was the one to shoot Anna Wintour's infamous first American Vogue cover.
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He was one of the first photographers to incorporate storylines into his fashion editorials and does not believe in retouching his work. This is how he able to achieve the rawness of his work as he explains, "who cares if her nose is red? You don’t see the power and the poetry of not being perfect?"
