New work with Iliana Papageorgiou

New portrait of stunning Greek model Iliana Papageorgiou at Ford Models with hair by Kash Spang and makeup by Kelly Manzini #Portrait #Fashion #Photography

© Simon Ackerman 2017 - All Rights Reserved - www.simonackerman.co.uk

Beauty look with braids by Izzy Pratt

Amazing beauty look with braids created by Izzy Pratt with model Lydia Martin at Storm in London.

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2016 - All Rights Reserved - www.simonackerman.co.uk

Avatar image manipulation with Catherine McNeil

A little bit of fun with Photoshop turning Catherine McNeil into a Na'vi from Avatar. If there was a Pandora Fashion Week it might look a bit like this backstage.

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2015 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk

Backstage at The Blonds

Backstage at The Blonds with some amazing yellow catseye makeup and vulcan type head pieces created by design duo Phillipe and David Blond. Shot at Milk Studios New York during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week - Spring 2014. A truly spectacular show and this is my favourite image from backstage. Laughter is the best medicine. 

© Simon Ackerman - All Rights Reserved www.simonackerman.co.uk

Backstage with Maud Welzen

Backstage beauty portrait of Maud Welzen at DNA Model Management & Elite Model Management, shot backstage at New York Fashion Week. 

© Simon Ackerman Photography - All Rights Reserved www.simonackerman.co.uk

Creative makeup with Shelby

My last blog entry for 2014 wrapping things up with another shoot I shot at the Makeup Forever Academy in Soho, NYC a few months back. 

The first look kind of lent itself to a more classic almost epic fantasy kind of look. The rouge coloured top our model Shelby from MC2 matched her lip perfectly. 

The 2nd look was an implied nude look with a mermaid inspiration. The amazing makeup and fake lashes complemented the hair and the lighting helped to give a nice soft glow on the skin. Another great image to work with in post production.

Model - Shelby Red Model Management - RED NYC

Makeup - Jen Evans 

Hair - Jill Schnapp 

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2014 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk

Creative Beauty with Marissa

Wrapping up my creative beauty work this year at the Makeup Forever Academy in Soho, here is a very vibrant spectrum of colours by makeup artist Jen Evans.

It's always nice to have work like this in Photoshop when you are retouching and can give the colours a nice boost. I find it's best not to overdue any colour enhancements as the image can end up looking a bit garish especially with bright reds.

This was one of the last looks we experimented with. It's great to start a shoot with a look that requires more natural makeup and the some goes for the hair, it's easier to build up on the looks as we go along. Depending on the type of story we're shooting the last look can end up quite crazy and in this instance Marissa our model was invited to trash the makeup.

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2014 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk

Tribal photoshoot in Central Park

At the end of the summer, I shot a tribal makeup inspired editorial in Central Park. Abby Stahlschmidt from Silent Models was our model and had flown in all the way from Nashville, Tennessee to work with us.

We caught the golden hour for some beautiful natural light portraits and here are some of the results.

Hair - Jill Schnapp 

Model - Abby Stahlschmidt @ Silent Model Management and Factor Women

Makeup - Laura Natalie Gattini 

Stylist - MC Lab 

© Simon Ackerman 2014 - All Rights Reserved 

www.simonackerman.co.uk

New Creative Beauty with Anna Cariad

Here is a work in progress from my final shoot at the Makeup Forever Academy in Soho, New York. Th finished story will be a nice mix of black and white and colour fashion toning. 

Photographer - Simon Ackerman

Makeup - Jen Evans at Makeup Forever New York 

Model - Anna Cariad at Red Model Management NYC

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2014 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk

Endless Motions

Perhaps it’s a delicate set of features shielded by a sharp, tailored suit, or a gesture so feminine at heart that it is nearly impossible to lose in a masculine translation; as it may be all about an inborn gentleness that gets toughened up by bits and pieces of menswear inspiration, or a severe attitude tamed by the most beautiful expression. Endless motions get to be rewritten with Simon Ackerman behind the camera, as he appears ready to use powerful contrasts in order to fully disclose hidden emotions.

Cinematic in all of its confined sense of luxury, the reimagining of the dandy girl is never to be done without the imminent collision of past and present. Her timeless portrait, impeccably styled by Tracy Michael, talks just as much about today’s modern aesthetic, as it does about the brave women of yesterday, who understood men’s clothing better than men themselves.

With hair by Debbie Hancock and make-up by Jemma Venables, check the complete photo shoot by Simon Ackerman (www.simonackerman.co.uk) at the gallery.

© Simon Ackerman Photography 2014 - www.simonackerman.co.uk 

Fashion editorial with James Pitt

I had a afternoon out shooting at the gas works in Poole and around Bournemouth beach in England for my first male model shoot in some time. Model James was full of ideas and not afraid to jump over walls for the sake of creativity! Here are the first retouches from the shoot. 

© Simon Ackerman 2014 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk 

East Side Story

With skin so soft and sweet.

Kelly Gray makes for an entirely spellbinding subject matter in this portrait style photography shoot by Simon Ackerman. The raw and sexual nature of these photographs comes through in Gray’s direct stare, the luscious lips and uncovered skin.

Hair (done by Vincenzo Cortimiglia) and make-up (done by Lindsay Cullen) are smooth and natural, done only to emphasise the glowing features of the model, and not to mask them in anything unreal. The New York skyline and background create the scene of a city full of hustle and bustle, all the while this sensual photo shoot takes place unbeknown to the world around it.

Ackerman creates a scene of pure beauty, having it done to it’s most natural and elegant form.

Written by Chevaun Roux for  www.fashionising.com

© Simon Ackerman 2013 - All Rights Reserved

www.simonackerman.co.uk

The girl’s got style: Rachel by Simon Ackerman

There’s a particular magic that’s formed at the place where two eras collide. Or in this case, three, if you count the here-and-now.

Combining contemporary youthfulness with retro ’70s-inspired glamour is a shoot by rising photographer Simon Ackerman, working with a creative team who turned a straightforward portrait of model Rachel Validum into a picture of freshness and strong femininity.

Hairstylist Jill Schnapp added her love of the “Deco Decadence” of the 1920s into the mix, merging an edgy pompadore with a textured side braid or coaxing two twirly pigtails out from under a chic black hat to create styles that borrow from multiple eras without subscribing specifically to any.

  

Makeup artist Crystal Watkins played perfectly to Rachel’s features and colouring, contrasting her velvety dark skin with the boldest red lipstick and adding a flick of black liner and white shimmer to her eyes.

The era collision of the ’20s and ’70s comes into play again in Amelia Schussler’s flirtatious styling: Deco-inspired jewels atop plunging necklines creating an element of night-time glamour, while a perfectly on-trend black and white patterned crop top paired with high-waisted black pants is the vision of what this ultra-cool, modern-day glamazon would wear during the daytime hours.

Words by Tania Braukamper at www.fashionising.com


Photographer: Simon Ackerman

Hair: Jill Schnapp @ www.jillschnapphair.com | www.davidryansalon.com

Model: Rachel Validum @ MC2 - NYC Model Management

Make-up Artist: Crystal Watkins @ www.themakeupboo.com

Wardrobe Stylist: Amelia Schussler @ www.ameliaschussler.com



© Simon Ackerman 2013 - All Rights Reserved
www.simonackerman.co.uk

Creative Makeup & Photoshop Retouching

Once the final images where all sent to press from the fashion weeks I set about organising some new beauty photoshoots. My main focus prior to this was to set about learning some new techniques in Photoshop. They say the average user only uses 33% or Photoshop's full potential and there is a whole plethora of tools in order to make images look great and the models look really pretty. The use of Photoshop in digital cosmetic enhancement has always been a subject of much controversy. A friend of mine recently sent me an image that showed a before and after image of Madonna, it revealed that post processing can easily take years of the subject and still retain the realism. Retouching in Photoshop can be compared to cosmetic surgery in the way that it can enhance the features, enlarge breasts, nip, tuck, smooth the skin even change eye colour and straighten teeth. You name it, you can probably do it in Photoshop. Here is the first shot from some of the new techniques I learnt, it's sometimes hard to retain a realistic skin texture when so many blemishes and wrinkles are taken out.

 I try to maintain skin pores but sometimes fashion magazines and websites may go for a retouch where the model looks something like a waxwork or a porcelain doll, sometimes the models can look like a CGI character from a computer game.
It's all a matter of personal preference and what the client wants the final images to look like.

Model - Megan Clarke

Makeup - Keighley Mila Valdivielso

Photographer - Simon Ackerman

© Simon Ackerman 2012 - All Rights Reserved 

www.simonackerman.co.uk