Since I started my journey into Commercial Photography, I wanted to copy every photographer’s style I liked and this could sound a bit wrong but this helped me to learn a bit about those photographers and incorporate what I like about them and create my style.
These are some of the inspirational commercial photographers I use when I have to work on a project and from whom I have learned since I just started my career as a professional photographer.
Benjamin Von Wong
I admire this commercial photographer for many reasons. The main one is the fact that he never went to school to study photography and I feel I identify with him for this reason. He is a self-taught photographer coming from an engineering career. The second reason is the way he approaches the idea to create an epic photograph. I have heard from him he spends 80% of the time preparing his epic photography projects based on an idea he had, then recruiting the team to make gorgeous and breathtaking photos.
The last reason I love his work is because I worked with him for several opportunities. Once, when he went to Europe to create a Photoshop tutorial with all the people he met, based on very creative artisans, he shot on the trip. During this opportunity, I translated a Spanish interview they conducted with a leather artisan in Spain. The second time I worked with him was in a photoshoot in Montreal, called “Epic Pumpkin Destruction”; a Halloween theme, testing a super-high frame 700 fps video camera from FOR.A.
Joel Grimes
I love Joel’s work and style. I see him as a visual artist more than a simple photographer, since he crafts his photos in every single detail. Portrait photography is one of my favorite genres. You can see in his work more than your eye expects to see: texture, contrast, and expression. From all the tutorials I have watched from him, I learned that I’m a photographer 24 hours a day.
I say this because I see a photo everywhere; I’m looking to craft a photo all the time I see an interesting location. That is the way he thinks or, at least, what I have got from his way of work.
Joe McNally
One of the first photographers I followed when I began my journey into photography. Usually when you see photography with a different eye, as more than a simple hobby, and you see photographers like Joe McNally, you get inspired by how he gets such a beautiful photo with the simplest gear, speed-lights, and a couple of modifiers. I love the way he produces the photos with simple techniques.
That is what you look for when you have just started photography–at least I did. I also like his personality a lot since he connects with the subject he is photographing in a way that gets the money shot. I would say that 50% of the success of a magnificent portrait is engaging with the subject, and he does this very well in his environmental portraits.
Lindsay Adler
A fashion photographer that goes far beyond the typical portrait. Her work inspires me on another level since sometimes her work is very surrealistic. Photography, for me, is an art and I always try to create more than unimaginable images to engage the spectator and cause them to feel powerful emotions. I see Lindsay that way.
Her clean, graphic and bold style make me go out and shoot new projects every day, to think of a new challenge and produce new results. In another word, she makes me think out of the box. If you want to learn a bit more about her and her techniques, check out her photography and pose courses
Alex Koloskov
As he calls himself, he is the lighting magician. He is a product photographer and educator. His work makes me buy anything he photographs, even though I don’t use most of these products. I admire Alex because he is also a scientist by formal education from Ukraine, based in the USA and a self-taught photographer.
The way he lights the scene in a softly manner is sometimes unbelievable but realistic. As I mentioned before, he is also an educator at photigy product photography community where I took a couple of courses and I can tell by looking at his work, that trying to replicate his creation could be impossible, but he explains the techniques so easily that even a monkey could create that image, maybe not a monkey but you get the idea.
Michael Woloszynowicz
Fashion/Portrait Photographer, retoucher and educator. My inspiration from Michael comes from the natural and clean look of his images. His work inspires me as his fashion work captures the beauty of a woman’s body, which is surely the greatest creation in the world. I have learned advanced retouching techniques, as well as creating a successful portrait session. As I mentioned before, he is a great educator in many of the most renowned online photography websites, Retouching Academy, PRO EDU and a writer at Fstoppers.