Shine Like a Star + Blooming Beauties: Photography Winners & New Entries

The photographers behind this week’s featured submissions show us how to capture the essence of a subject and, in doing so, catapults an image to new heights. 

“Wishing On A Star” (above) is a Platinum-winning collection of photos taken by British Graphis Master Jonathan Knowles for the fashion and beauty magazine Luxure. For one of their 2019 issues, Knowles was entrusted with capturing beauty shots of model Millie Rose to showcase Dior’s Stella Shine lipstick collection, which comes in several vibrant and glossy shades. This tied into the theme of the photo shoot with the magazine’s creative team using an intergalactic atmosphere to highlight the lipstick’s qualities. In order to do so, the team used a celestial backdrop for each photo and emulated moonlight with the studio lighting. With makeup done by Jamie Coombes, each beauty look utilizes the pink, berry, and violet shades of the lipsticks to compliment the colors in the cosmic backdrop, creating gorgeous and captivating photos that successfully showcase the new lipstick line. 

Next up is a close-range portrait “Untitled 3” (above) by Stephen Guenther, a photographer, and director based in Illinois. Beginning his career in the 1970s, Guenther cites the era as a time of great exploitation and creativity, and when he first met his mentor, C.J. Pressma, who continues to have a lasting impact on the way Guenther approaches photography today. With a portfolio featuring everything from gorgeous international destinations to advertising images and video, Guenther understands how to capture the right shot to showcase the best aspects of a scene. In this self-initiated photograph, Guenther employs accent lighting and close range to accentuate some amaryllis amadeus’ most unique and striking features, such as their vibrant color and the distinct white veiny texture of their petals, giving them the appearance of being painted with watercolor.

To see more Photography 2020 winners, click here. To submit your professional photography to our Photography 2023 Awards competition, click here!