About

An Istanbul-based photographer and film director who treats photography, film and strategy as different extensions of the same creative vision.

Cumhur Kaplan entered the Photography Department of Kocaeli University's Faculty of Fine Arts through its aptitude exam in the 1996–97 academic year. Between 1997 and 2001, alongside his studies, he worked professionally in industrial and architectural photography, shooting for many companies and factories, among them some of Turkey's best-known industrial names. In the same years he took part in group exhibitions with the Kocaeli Photographic Artists Association (KASK), and wrote his graduation thesis on experimental photography, backed by intensive darkroom printing work.

From 2000 he carried the work he had begun in Kocaeli on to Istanbul, turning to advertising and fashion photography; having already started producing his own work, he founded his studio in 2004. He has shot campaigns for brands such as Garanti Bankası, Zorlu Holding, Pierre Cardin, Loft Jeans, Lufian, Gizia Classic, Kiwe, Kuveyt Türk and Molfix, and has worked on commercials as director, producer or cinematographer for brands including Turkcell, Sony, VakıfBank, Nissan, Renault, Avon and Edox.

In his independent practice he develops campaign, portrait, visual identity and narrative-driven projects. The aim is not merely to construct an aesthetic image, but to build a strong, consistent and memorable visual world for brands, institutions and individuals.