Russell James (born 1962 in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

) is a fashion, celebrity and beauty photographer. Russell was born in Western

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and spent much of his childhood moving from city to city due to his working class father. After dropping out of school at age 14, Russell got his first job working in a factory that made trashcans. After working in the factory, Russell held several odd jobs to make ends met before becoming a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

, which lasted several years. After traveling to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Russell arrived in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1989.

Career

Russell James is most famous for his work as the main photographer for

Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ...

, but his work has appeared in a large range of

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

s, including ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'', '' W'', ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

'', and '' GQ''.James's biography on his own site
/ref>''Photoicon''
/ref> James has worked with many celebrities and fashion models, such as Alessandra Ambrósio,

Tyra Banks Tyra Lynne Banks (born December 4, 1973), also known as BanX, is an American television personality, model, producer, writer, and actress. Born in Inglewood, California, she began her career as a model at the age of 15, and was the first Africa ...

Kendall Jenner Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, media personality, and socialite. She is a daughter of Kris Jenner and Caitlyn Jenner, and rose to fame in the reality television show '' Keeping Up with the Kardashians.' ...

Gisele Bündchen Gisele Caroline Bündchen (, , born 20 July 1980) is a Brazilian fashion model. Since 2001, she has been one of the highest-paid models in the world. In 2007, Bündchen was the 16th-richest woman in the entertainment industry and earned th ...

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

Karolína Kurková Karolína Kurková (; born 28 February 1984) is a Czech model and actress, known for her work as a former Victoria's Secret Angel and ''Vogue'' cover star. Mario Testino praised the "proportions of her body and her face, as well as her energy le ...

Adriana Lima Adriana Lima (; born 12 June 1981) is a Brazilian model, who was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 1999 to 2018. She was the longest-running model and named "the most valuable Victoria's Secret Angel" in 2017. She is also known as a spokesmodel fo ...

Michelle Alves Michelle Kristine da Silva Alves (born September 19, 1978) is a Brazilian model. Biography She was born in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, as the daughter of a lawyer (mother) and an engineer (father). Alves was a student in civil engineer ...

Marisa Miller Marisa Lee Miller (née Bertetta; born August 6, 1978) is an American model and occasional film actress best known for her appearances in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' and her work for Victoria's Secret. After a stint shooting with ph ...

, Ana Beatriz Barros,

Heidi Klum Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the '' Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secr ...

, Angela Lindvall,

Fernanda Motta Fernanda Motta (born May 29, 1981) is a Brazilian model, actress, and television host. She is the host of the reality TV show '' Brazil's Next Top Model'', the Brazilian version of the show, created by Tyra Banks. Biography Motta was born and ...

Oluchi Onweagba Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi (born 1 August 1980) is a Nigerian model based in New York City. Growing up in the suburbs of Lagos, she won "The Face of Africa" contest at the age of 16. Early life Onweagba grew up in the suburbs of Lagos, Nigeria, ...

Miranda Kerr Miranda May Kerr (; born 20 April 1983) is an Australian model and businesswoman. Kerr rose to prominence in 2007, as one of the Victoria's Secret Angels. Kerr was the first Australian Victoria's Secret model and also represented the Australia ...

Behati Prinsloo Behati Prinsloo ( , ; born 16 May 1988) is a Namibian model. In 2008, she became a Pink contract model, and moved on to become a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2009. She walked in ten Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows (2007–2015; 2018), and opened c ...

and

Erin Wasson Erin Elizabeth Wasson (January 20, 1982) is an American fashion model, actress, fashion designer and stylist. Early life Erin Elizabeth Wasson was born on January 20, 1982, in Irving, Texas. Career Wasson's modeling career began after winning ...

. Russell James has appeared several times in

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

Australia's Next Top Model ''Australia's Next Top Model'' is an Australian reality television series which premiered on 11 January 2005 and concluded on 22 November 2016, and was based on Tyra Banks' ''America's Next Top Model''. It was broadcast on the Australian subscr ...

and

Germany's Next Topmodel ''Germany's Next Topmodel'' (often abbreviated as ''GNTM'') is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with ''America's Next Top Model''. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the lea ...

, as a guest photographer or judge. Russell James was one of the twelve

Hasselblad Masters Award Hasselblad Masters Award is an bi-annual award granted by the camera company Hasselblad to selected photographers each year across various specialties in recognition of exceptional accomplishment through photography. While its sister prize, the Has ...

recipients in 2007.Hasselblad Masters of 2007
/ref> James also directs art films, music videos, and television commercials for Victoria's Secret and

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gill ...

Books

* Ellen von Unwerth,

Raphael Mazzucco Raphael Mazzucco, or Rafael Mazzucco, is a Canadian fashion, art and music photographer. His photographs have appeared on the cover of three ''Sports Illustrated'' '' Swimsuit Issues'' in a four-year span, including the 2006, 2008 and 2009 main c ...

, Russell James (photographers): ''"Sexy" : A Tribute to a Decade of Sexy Swimwear'', Victoria's Secret, 2005 (3 volumes).

References

External links

* *
Becoming Jangala
- Biography, ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Russell Australian photographers Fashion photographers Living people 1962 births