The most expressive photos from the Spotlight Awards 2019

Many talented photographers have to spend a long time beating the doorsteps of various organizations before they find something to their liking or become so famous that companies will offer them jobs themselves. The Spotlight Awards is designed to solve this problem, the participants of which present their pictures to a jury consisting entirely of potential employers — creative directors of agencies, art collectors, marketers, publishers.

These people know for sure how to sell a product, and are able to assess how selling a photo can be. See the photos that were shortlisted for the award.

The passion of American photographer Brett Stanley is shooting underwater. In his studio in California, he creates bizarre water-flooded scenery. It all started when the singer Wise Blood ordered him a cover for the album, on which she wanted to see a room under water. The photographer and his team spent five days implementing this idea, and since then Stanley has been fired up with the idea of shooting in this style.

Whitley Bay is a small seaside town on the northeast coast of England. On a fine summer day, the heroes of the picture — the Hubbucks family — go to the sea in a car loaded with everything you need for a fun family vacation by the water. "This is a cinematic scene from real life. A magical moment that we all know," was how British photographer Garrod Kirkwood described his work.

Another photographer from the UK, Julia Bostock, specializes in photographing children. In her interviews, she admits that she chose a difficult field, because every child is unpredictable. However, she also sees the uniqueness of her work in this: successful photos with her little heroes often turn out spontaneously, as if by magic.

"I think you're weird, and I really like you" — these words from the song of the band Die Antwoord became the leitmotif of the photographer Tina Sturzenegger's project. In the series of works "Strange and Fearless" she tried to find herself, going beyond the usual art, and she succeeded. Sturzenegger concluded that she feels best when she lives and works differently from everyone else.

Erin Faison loves to shoot for cosmetics and fashion brands. According to her, this is how she satisfies her thirst for beauty and meets interesting people.

Ema Peter remembers well how in her childhood, which she spent in Bulgaria, she spent hours assembling a constructor from Russia and dreamed of being an architect. In her free time from games, the girl helped her father, a photographer, develop the film. Being in a dark room had such a huge impact on the young Emu that she decided to combine these two passions and learn how to shoot buildings professionally. In the photo — one of the attractions of Vancouver, where Peter lives now. Japanese architect Kengo Kuma built a tea ceremony house on the 20th floor of the Show Tower.

Photographer Richard Ansett is known for his provocative portraits, which brought him worldwide fame. The Briton admits that his attitude to the world and art was largely influenced by the fact that he did not know who his real parents were, since he grew up in a foster family. "My interest in other people's lives is explained by my lack of a complete understanding of myself," says Ansett.

"We will not die in our sleep" is the name of the project of the German photographer Gil Barts about nomads in Mongolia. Bartz claims that the title of his series of works is a popular expression among nomads, largely reflecting their way of life. In his photographs, Barts tried to show the contrast between ancient customs and civilization, which leaves its imprint on the life of nomadic peoples. They are increasingly forced to abandon their usual way of life and settle near the city.

This is a frame from the video for the song Grille by the German band Die Orsons. German photographer Monica Menez brought the spirit of surrealism and absurdity to the video, which she uses as a technique and in photography. The venue was a pink—painted gym, and the heroes were cheerleaders with sad faces, passengers of an inflatable boat with toy sharks and spectators with claws.

Tadd Myers grew up in Texas and watched his father work at a printing company from childhood. So he developed an interest in those who earn their living literally with their own hands — carpenters, tailors, welders. Myers is convinced that modern people are overloaded with visual information, so in each picture he tries to tell the story concisely and in an original way.

Meticulous attention to detail is one of the most important aspects of the work of photographer Benton Collins, who specializes in shooting products of various brands. He has worked with Coke, Pepsi, Sony, Toshiba and Colgate brands.

Christian Brecase became interested in photography after he became interested in snowboarding. He wanted to capture individual moments of rapid movement, invisible to the naked eye. Not only professional athletes get into the lens of his camera, but also ordinary people during a morning jog, a walk in the rain or a hike in the mountains.

Photographer Kai Hartmann knows a lot about how to capture cars beautifully. His portfolio includes not only traditional pictures from the angles familiar to many, but also photos taken from the air. According to Hartmann, because of his work, he has to live in an extremely busy schedule: "I well remember a week when I worked on a frozen lake in Mongolia at a temperature of minus 45 degrees Celsius, and a few days later I flew to India, where the shooting was carried out at plus 35 degrees Celsius."