Cumhur Kaplan — Journal

News & Journal

New work, campaign stories and notes from behind the camera.

2016 — 2026 · 11 stories

Featured/News/October 18, 2026/1 min read

SAY Hot Summer: A Campaign Visual Among the Stones

One ad from a single day’s frames: the stone set built in our studio for SAY’s Summer 2024 collection became a campaign visual in the hands of our team.

SAY’s Summer 2024 “Hot Summer” collection was shot in a single day at our studio in Şişli. Two minimal sets were built that day. One was a natural scene of stones, a sand-coloured floor and a plain backdrop, and the campaign visual this piece is about came out of that set. In a fashion shoot, every frame is a photograph in its own right. An ad has to carry the whole feeling of a collection in a single image. Here three looks stand side by side in one scene: a dress with a large black-and-white floral print, a draped dress in mink tones and a layered white piece. Frames selected from the shoot were combined into one composition in Photoshop by Cumhur Kaplan and his team, and the brand logo was set on the empty backdrop, at the centre of gravity of the scene. The set was kept deliberately simple: piles of stones, the colour of sand and a soft light. Within that simplicity, the texture of the fabrics, the shadowed tones of the printed flowers and the layers of white come forward. The beige-mink tone of the logo belongs to the same family as the colours of the set, so the whole image speaks in a single palette. The full shoot is on the site as two separate series: the stone set in SAY — Hot Summer 2024, and the second set, built with colourful painted panels, in SAY — Hot Summer 2024 · II. Photography: Cumhur Kaplan. Agency: WCDI Creative.

News/May 9, 2026/1 min read

A Performance-Driven Campaign Visual for Fakir

Ayhancan Güven’s performance-driven identity meets Fakir’s home technology universe in a cinematic campaign image.

The new campaign visual created for Fakir brings the idea of “Performance Starts at Home” into a more dynamic advertising language. Featuring Ayhancan Güven’s performance-driven identity from the world of racing, the work brings Fakir’s product universe into a strong single-frame campaign image. Speed, light and motion move the products beyond a standard presentation and create a more cinematic and contemporary visual narrative. This work becomes part of Cumhur Kaplan’s archive as a campaign image that brings together brand message, character and product world through an advertising photography and visual production perspective.

News/April 1, 2024/1 min read

50 Artists 50 Studios in Istanbul: Artistic Memory of a City

This special art book, prepared in honor of Galeri Selvin's 40th anniversary, documents the studios and creative worlds of Istanbul's 50 most distinguished artists.

Istanbul has been a source of inspiration for artists, poets, and creative people for centuries. Countless works of art have come to life in the streets, studios, and workshops of this ancient city. "50 Artists 50 Studios in Istanbul", prepared in honor of Galeri Selvin's 40th anniversary, opens the doors to this creative universe. This visual journey through the studios of distinguished figures in Turkish art — including Süleyman Saim Tekcan, Nur Koçak, Ergin İnan, Can Göknil, and Bedri Baykam — reveals each artist's unique world, working methods, and the backstory of their art. This meticulous project, begun in 2009 by Galeri Selvin founder Selvin Gafuroğlu, is the product of years of dedicated work. The book, enriched with the valuable texts of the late art historian and critic Prof. Dr. Kaya Özsezgin, was published bilingually in Turkish and English.

SAY Spring/Summer 2024 — Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/February 8, 2024/1 min read

SAY Spring/Summer 2024 — Behind the Scenes

An all-white studio, black frames built from a ladder and two different sets in one day. From the set of SAY's Spring/Summer 2024 campaign.

We shot the Spring/Summer 2024 collection of womenswear brand SAY in a single day in January 2024, at our studio in Şişli, Istanbul. Two separate sets were built that day: a graphic stage of thin black frames inside an all-white space, and a soft backdrop in warm sand and apricot tones with spheres standing in front of it. On the morning of the shoot the studio was empty. The references pinned to the moodboard wall carried the collection's black-and-white language and the idea of the set to come. The black frames were put in place one by one by the set crew from a ladder; their door- and window-like outlines drew a stage for the clothes inside the white space. In a fashion shoot, the fall of the fabric, the model's pose and the way light sits on the material all have to be right at the same moment. Throughout the day every frame appeared on screen instantly; we reviewed them there with the team before moving on to the next look. Hair, make-up and styling reset the scene with every change of outfit. In the afternoon the set changed completely: the black lines gave way to a warm-toned backdrop and large spheres, and pleated whites, pink tulle and evening gowns were shot in front of that soft light. The behind-the-scenes film tells the rhythm of the day through the eyes of WCDI Creative; below you can also see the photographs that came out of the shoot.

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Gürhan Jewelry — Photo Campaign, Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/February 15, 2022/1 min read

Gürhan Jewelry — Photo Campaign, Behind the Scenes

The warmth of gold, the softness of white silk and the green of a garden. From the Gürhan Jewelry campaign shoot.

Jewellery photography demands patience. The brief moment a stone catches the light, the warmth metal leaves on skin, the way a chain sits at the neck: details played out in millimetres. For the Gürhan Jewelry campaign we chose nature over the sterile light of the studio. In front of walls of blossoming jasmine, with a white silk blouse and the warm tones of gold, we built a timeless, elegant language. Set against green, gold looks even warmer than it is. Working with daylight doesn't mean accepting it as it comes. We used diffusers to soften the sun and reflectors to open the shadows, rebuilding the direction of the light for every frame to bring out the texture of the jewellery and the colour of the stones. In a jewellery campaign the model carries the piece. The position of the hands, the angle of the head, the fold of the fabric were all arranged to lead the eye to the jewellery. Sometimes a ring's sparkle depends on a finger turning a few millimetres. This short video takes you inside a calm, focused set to show how the frames were built. Below are photographs selected from the campaign.

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NG Phaselis Bay — Behind the Scenes (2022)

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Behind the Scenes/January 4, 2022/1 min read

NG Phaselis Bay — Behind the Scenes (2022)

Shot in the autumn, the NG Phaselis Bay commercial arrives on screen with the new year. The energy of the set, behind the scenes.

The NG Phaselis Bay commercial we shot in October went on air in the first days of 2022. A film that, in the middle of winter, makes you dream of the summer ahead: the sea, the sun and that familiar lightness of a holiday. This campaign was never a single film. The same shoot produced television versions of different lengths and short films speaking to different audiences: one story for families, another for couples. Building a distinct feeling and rhythm for each meant planning the entire shoot around that variety. While shooting you also have to think about the edit. A moment that breathes in a 90-second film has to fit into a single glance in the 30-second cut. So we shot every scene from several angles and at several lengths, ready to serve both the long and the short story. In a film like this, what matters most is ease. For viewers to picture themselves in that holiday, you need real moments rather than performance. We kept the camera inside the movement and planned the light and timing with care, so that natural moments could be caught in the most beautiful light. The hotel team's support and our rapport with the agency made the shoot a pleasure from start to finish. The behind-the-scenes video captures the energy of the set and how the film came together; below is the film that went on air.

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NG Phaselis Bay — Behind the Scenes (2021)

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Behind the Scenes/December 30, 2021/1 min read

NG Phaselis Bay — Behind the Scenes (2021)

A summer's day on screen, mid-November on set. Notes from the NG Phaselis Bay commercial on the Antalya coast.

A hotel film has one job: to make you feel the holiday from the very first frame. Glittering water, warm skin, time slowing down. Our commercial for NG Phaselis Bay speaks of summer, yet it was shot in mid-November, and the pool was far colder than it looks. Shooting off-season means having every corner of the hotel to yourself. The pool, the beach, the rooms and restaurants belong to the film alone, and you can frame them exactly as you want. The price is a race against the light: the sun drops early and the warm hours are short. We ordered every scene around the right light of the day. Soft morning light went to the rooms and breakfast moments, bright midday light to the pool and the sea, and the golden late afternoon to the emotional closing shots. A shooting schedule is really a calendar written around the movement of the sun. For the people in front of the camera, the hardest part was looking relaxed and happy in cold water. Between takes we looked after the cast with towels, hot drinks and short breaks, because the ease you see on screen is directly connected to the care taken on set. With every location prepared and the crew in perfect rhythm, it was one of the smoothest sets we have worked on. A client who had every location ready on time, clear communication with the agency and an experienced production team turned a race against the clock into an enjoyable journey. This behind-the-scenes film shows how the scenes you see on screen were built, and the work that happens behind the camera. Below, you can watch the film that came out of it.

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Bellisa Swimwear — Photo Shoot, Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/July 22, 2017/1 min read

Bellisa Swimwear — Photo Shoot, Behind the Scenes

Summer, skin and sun. A one-minute look behind our Bellisa swimwear shoot.

Swimwear photography sells a feeling as much as a product: salty skin, the glow the sun leaves behind, the easy air of summer. For this shoot with Bellisa Swimwear we put natural light, warm skin tones and clean styling at the centre. The make-up aimed to capture skin as it looks glowing in the sun, healthy and alive; not a heavy look but a luminous surface that holds the light. In swimwear campaigns the texture of the fabric, the accuracy of colour and the way the cut sits on the body matter as much as the atmosphere. We built poses that show the product at its best while still looking natural and at ease. This one-minute video carries the quick, cheerful rhythm of the shoot: from the make-up table to the camera, and on to the first frames on screen. A good window onto how many small details meet behind a single campaign photograph. Below are frames from another project with Bellisa, the “Mediterranean” campaign shot on the Mediterranean coast.

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Ceynur — “Ağır Aksak” Music Video, Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/November 22, 2016/1 min read

Ceynur — “Ağır Aksak” Music Video, Behind the Scenes

Turning a song's rhythm into images. From the set of Ceynur's “Ağır Aksak”.

A music video turns the rhythm and feeling of a song into images. The pace of the edit, the movement of the camera, the colour of the light: all of it should flow in the same breath as the song. In the video we shot for Ceynur's “Ağır Aksak”, we wanted to carry the distinctive, uneven rhythm the song's title describes into the images. We thought about camera movement, transitions and the pace of the edit around that rhythm: a story that sometimes flows with the song and sometimes deliberately stays a step behind. In a music video, the artist's ease in front of the camera is everything. We built the scenes to keep the artist's natural presence rather than squeezing her into a role; rehearsals, scene set-ups and the atmosphere on set all became part of that ease. The behind-the-scenes video shows how the scenes were prepared, the rehearsals and the crew at work. Below is the finished music video itself: watching the making-of first and then the film is like seeing it twice.

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A Fashion Shoot in Istanbul — Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/October 1, 2016/1 min read

A Fashion Shoot in Istanbul — Behind the Scenes

A red coat, the waterfront and the Istanbul skyline behind it. The story of an outdoor fashion shoot.

Shooting fashion on location means working with things you cannot control. Light, wind and the city keep changing; catching the right frame is partly patience and partly being in the right place at the right moment. On this shoot we used Istanbul not as a backdrop but as part of the story. By the water, against the city's skyline, we chased the contrast between a red coat and the blue of the sky and sea. A single strong colour pulls the eye straight to it in a busy cityscape. On the waterfront the wind never stops. Sometimes it is a helper, moving hair and fabric just as you want; sometimes an obstacle spoiling every frame. By setting the framing and pose to the direction of the wind, we tried to make it a partner rather than an enemy. As the light changed through the day we changed location and angle too, collecting frames in quite different atmospheres within the same city on the same day. The video follows the preparation, the moving set within the city, and the frames as they emerge. Behind a fashion photograph there is usually a far busier, faster world than it seems.

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Beauty Advertising Shoot — Behind the Scenes

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Behind the Scenes/September 22, 2016/1 min read

Beauty Advertising Shoot — Behind the Scenes

From the make-up chair to the final frame: the full process of a beauty advertising shoot in the studio.

There is nowhere to hide in beauty photography. Skin, the line of the make-up, the shadow of a lash, the way light moves across a face: every detail shows, and every detail matters. A beauty shoot begins at the make-up table long before the camera. Here we wanted to bring out a sharp, graphic eye make-up and flawless skin. Every line of the make-up was drawn with an eye on how the camera and the light would read it. In the studio, light is the sculptor of the face. A soft yet precise light kept the skin smooth and the features defined; we adjusted the angle and strength again and again for the sparkle in the eyes and the transitions across the face. In beauty photography, a few centimetres of light make a different face. From the make-up chair to the final frame, every step served a single, strong image. Retouching is the last link in that chain: completing what the light and make-up built, without taking the skin away from its natural texture. In this ten-minute video you can follow, from start to finish, how a beauty advertisement is prepared in the studio.

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