Focus on the Future: Common Good’s New Photography Roster Set to Redefine the Frame
At the forefront of Toronto’s creative scene, Common Good is not only redefining the production landscape but also expanding its artistic horizons with an exciting new venture. This month, the renowned full-service production company unveils its all-new photography roster, a dynamic line up of eight exceptional photographers poised to bring innovative perspectives and compelling visuals to the forefront.
Known for their commitment to community, collaboration, and breaking conventional barriers, Common Good continues to champion a forward-thinking approach to content creation. The new photography arm is a testament to their dedication to inclusivity and excellence, reflecting the company's ethos of blending diverse talents to push creative boundaries.
Julian Nieva, executive producer at Common Good, tells LBB: "This new roster is exciting because of the individuals who we get to work with every day. Each photographer is a beautiful person and it shows in their work. Getting the opportunity to create images with these talented people is a dream come true for us and I can’t wait to share this experience with our friends in the industry."
Promising to elevate the company's offerings and further solidify their reputation as a beacon of modern, inclusive artistry, each artist will enrich the company’s already impressive repertoire. LBB’s April Summers explores the work of these talented photographers bringing a unique voice and vision to Common Good’s creative collective.
Luis Mora
Location: Toronto
Best known for: His ability to capture the true essence and personality of his subjects. The Colombian-born photographer is renowned for merging narrative depth with cinematic quality, producing visually striking and emotionally rich images. Luis has worked with high-profile clients such as Margaret Atwood for the New York Times, Drake and Kevin Durant for Nocta, and Christian Bale for TIFF. His branded projects often feature whimsical details, vibrant textures, and rich colours, showcased in collaborations with Reebok, Roots, Milou, and Canada Goose. In 2019, Luis published his debut monograph and held a solo exhibition, 'Say It With Flowers' documenting Bogotá's largest flower market
Major influences: “My friends and colleagues are my biggest inspirations right now. Working with writers, curators, graphic designers, creative directors over the years has been a daily source of inspiration for me.”
Currently working on: In July, his solo show of sky and landscape photos, Window Seat, was exhibited at Toronto’s Clint Roenisch Gallery. Next up he will be working on two photography projects in Peru and Mexico City, as he continues to integrate his passion for Latin America with his commercial work
Future ambitions: Luis strives to balance family life, commercial work and art practice. He hopes to continue working with people he truly enjoys, as this has been instrumental in achieving this balance thus far
Follow Luis Mora on Instagram
Gemma Warren
Location: Los Angeles
Best known for: Her dreamlike aesthetic. Gemma’s work, often captured on film, blends documentary and editorial styles to highlight the timeless beauty of her subjects and surroundings in Los Angeles. This unique vision has led to collaborations with major brands like MAC Cosmetics, Nike, Reformation, and The New York Times, among others
Major influences: “From an early age I was interested in street photography, documentary art practices, and music. My core influences from that time are still the same today: Bruce Gilden, Andrea Arnold, Nan Goldin, Ronnie Horn, Shirin Neshat, Corinne Day, Danny Lyon, Bruce Davidson, Alfredo Jaar, William Eggleston, Claire Denis”
Currently working on: A film she wrote early in her directing career, which explores themes of girlhood, grief, and trauma. She is excited to be developing the project further, especially after receiving permission from an artist whose music had a significant influence on a key scene in the film
Future ambitions: To explore new territories in photography and directing, driven by a desire to tell impactful stories. Gemma seeks creative challenging projects which foster collaboration with talented individuals across various mediums. Long-term, she hopes to contribute to broader discussions on identity, culture, and the human experience, while staying inspired in both personal and commercial endeavours
Follow Gemma on Instagram
Vishal Marapon
Location: Vancouver
Best known for: Striking colour combinations and intricate play between light and shadow, ranging from zig-zags to archways and cubes. In early 2017, Vishal curated The New Yorker’s feed for a week, elevating everyday objects into captivating art. His lifestyle, fashion, and editorial photography have been showcased in The New Yorker, Kinfolk Magazine, Sight Unseen, and American Chordata, and he has collaborated with brands like Apple, Thom Browne, Lululemon, and Square
Major influences: “Old school” photographers like Paul Outerbridge, Horst, Irving Penn and Saul Leiter and street photographers like William Eagleston, and Joel Meyerowitz
Currently working on: A recent collaboration with a makeup artist on a portrait shoot focused on creative beauty has sparked Vishal’s interest, and he aims to develop his own unique perspective on beauty and portrait photography
Future ambitions: Expanding his work into moving images and more complex storytelling, driven by a sense of untapped curiosity he wants to explore
Follow Vishal on Instagram
Guillaume Simoneau
Location: Montreal
Best known for: Blending his fine art sensibilities with the commercial realm, capturing the human subject in his portrait assignments for publications like the Wall Street Journal, NUVO, The Walrus, Monocle, and Financial Times. Guillaume has also worked with brands including Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Hitachi, and Porter. His photo series Experimental Lake was published by MACK in 2018 and exhibited at Stephen Bulger Gallery and FOAM Museum
Major influences: “People who beat their own drums: whoever, wherever.”
Currently working on: Simultaneously editing a 10-year body of work about the elasticity of time and completing a documentary film about an octogenarian female moose hunter...
Future ambitions: To build a family of his own, stay curious and find the perfect Japanese plum
Follow Guillaume on Instagram
Kane Ocean
Location: New York City
Best known for: Intuitively translating contemporary culture and fashion, blending the eccentric with the intimate for brands such as SSENSE, Canada Goose, Metal Magazine, Office Mag, Aritzia, and Dime. His debut monograph, WAYN, released in 2022, offers a diaristic account of people and places - parties, trips, conversations, and moments - shaped by his childhood in Vancouver, where Ocean spent his formative years skateboarding, playing in bands, and later DJing at parties and running a Montreal-based record label he co-founded called ’00 AM
Major influences: “Friends, movies, music, the world”
Currently working on: In addition to spending lots of time in the dark room, he is working on completing his second book, and sharing new fashion and fine art work with the world
Future ambitions: To continue working with artists, teams, brands he is “hyped on”; creating elevated and impactful imagery; and participating in and shaping culture
Follow Kane on Instagram
Kyle Berger
Location: Toronto
Best known for: Exhibiting a “digitally constructed outlandish concept” defined somewhere in between documentary and still photography featuring crisp, offbeat, and unexpected images. Berger's signature tongue-in-cheek humour is evident in his portrait work and recent campaigns for brands like McDonald's, Puma, and Ecco, as well as in his contributions to publications such as Vice, Stussy, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and EYTYS
Major influences: “Cursed internet images and found image databases, early 2000’s fringe advertising aesthetics, tract housing, the public library image archive, Walter Wick (the man who shot all the images in the I Spy books), Appalachian auto-fiction novels”
Currently working on: Kyle has had a super busy summer working with dream clients such as MSCHF and A24
Future ambitions: In addition to pushing creative boundaries through his work, Kyle would love to strategise and creatively direct a rebrand for an iconic but culturally outdated or bygone brand
Follow Kyle on Instagram
Jackie Beale
Location: Los Angeles
Best known for: Jackie is renowned for her athletic lifestyle portraits, which explore human potential by highlighting the smaller, grittier moments of greatness. Her career includes photographing top athletes such as Maria Sharapova for Tonal and Savannah Foden for Red Bull. Her talent is further demonstrated by her extensive list of collaborations with brands like Nike, Lululemon, Amazon, Budweiser, Audi, Under Armour, Red Bull, Shopify, Foot Locker, Canon, Ford, Thompson Hotels, Oakley, and the National Women’s Soccer League
Major influences: “Curiosity. Our human body – how we move, why we move, and what that looks like. Exploring in nature. Taking a familiar subject or action and finding new ways to capture it. Fashion, love culture and the natural world”
Currently working on: Refining the balance between commercial projects, an art/creative practice and passions outside of photography, while finding opportunities for them to intersect
Future ambitions: To keep evolving, expanding, and pushing the boundaries of the mediums, scales and spaces she works within
Follow Jackie on Instagram
Michael Kazimierczuk
Location: Toronto
Best known for: Recognised for his captivating colour palettes and unique still-life compositions, creating dreamlike visuals with striking aesthetics. He is well-known for collaborations with brands like Kotn Home, Salt and Stone, Harry Rosen, Rose Los Angeles, and Ecco, as well as for his portrait work featured in campaigns for Sleep Country, Saje, F.Miller, and L’Oreal
Major influences: “Regular mundane items and things in my day to day life tend to lead to a lot of inspiration. Whether it’s a stack of tangled cables on my desk, light casting in a space or even just shapes and textures”
Currently working on: Michael recently finished a few projects in which he was involved in the creative direction - being able to build ideas from the ground up was something he really enjoyed
In the future I hope to: To keep exploring creative ideas and expanding onto a larger scale, integrating more people and talent into his work. Expanding off a table-top surface and into large sets is something he hopes to do more of in the future
Follow Mike on Instagram
