Provocative Dark Portrait Photography of Stefan Gesell

Stefan Gesell, a German photographer, creates portraits that appear to be torn from the pages of sci-fi and horror novels. Using dynamic lighting and effects, the rawness and aggression of Gesell’s work makes it stand out among peers attempting to capture dystopian worlds within the same form.

Stefan Gesell is a Munich-based photographer who composes breathtaking images that shock and seduce the imagination. Mixing dark fantasy imagery with industrialism and science fiction, Gesell uses his experience as a former graphic designer to tell elaborate stories using the lens. Dark, confident, and even tortured figures confront the viewer with tremendous strength, each seemingly imbued with otherworldly knowledge and power. Setting, lighting, and composition are carefully employed to create haunting tableaux with deep emotional impacts. Among Gesell’s inspirations are the masters H.R. Giger and Gottfried Helnwein, both of whom resonate with Gesell’s work as artists who fearlessly delve into the darker parts of the human condition.Stefan, transforms his model, whether it is a man or a woman. He pushes the models so that they have to be expressive in their glances, in the distortions of their bodies.