Elise Richards
BA (Hons) Photography
Elise is interested in creating ambiguous narratives within her photographic portraiture, influenced by cinema and the concept of mystery and drama. In both the studio and on location, she creates intimate portraits, using high key lighting to produce stylised photographs that suggest a character, open to individual interpretation. She achieves this through cinematic language, including lighting, camera angle and facial expressions. Using a carefully staged set up she aims to provoke ideas of vulnerability and fear, as well as leaving an unknown in between that allows the viewer to decide on the enigma. She freeze-frames moments of uncertainty and contemplation, suggesting that the characters are dealing with internal emotions. Through the staging of the characters and the chosen settings, combined with the voyeuristic intrusion, the audience is witness to a segment of a story, aiming to show enough content to feel an emotional investment but not enough to reveal the whole story. Influenced by vintage Hollywood, the audience are left questioning what movie they are reminded of and femininity is a central theme Elise explores, alongside loneliness and separation.
