We are crushing on Alisa Connan. She has been with us through some of our most important shoots and campaigns and we could not be more excited to have her.
Alisa is known for her keen ability to ease even the most nervous personalities with an abundance of beauty and honesty in the moments that are created between her and the people she is photographing.
Born in Melbourne, she moved to London and worked for Rankin at his East London studio after graduating from the RMIT University. She has since worked with some of the biggest names in the industry; Rosamund Pike, Miranda Hart and Alicia Vikander are only some of the stars she has shot.
We wanted to offer you an exclusive glimpse into what it takes to create those special Bluebella moments that are key to our campaigns and to how we present our beautiful lingerie and nightwear. We interviewed Alisa exclusively to introduce you to one of the most exciting photographers on the London scene.
What would you say is your style? Who is your style icon?
Casual and relaxed with a few key pieces. In terms of an icon @DressLikeAMum is pretty awesome, she’s hilarious and has great style tips whether you’re a mum or not.
What do you like most about shooting lingerie?
I like to work with brands that have real women in mind and are not feeding into the hyper-sexualized imagery we often see where woman are seen as submissive. My favorite images to shoot capture real moments that are powerful, intimate & sensual in the stories my team and I create.
What is your favourite image that you have ever shot?
Probably one of my daughter.
Who is your favourite celebrity to work with?
The shoot with Alicia Vikander for Blackbook Magazine was fun. It was her birthday so we got to have cake afterwards too.
What has been your favourite moment in your career so far?
It was a privilege to photograph Theresa May when she was Home Secretary; she’s an incredible woman.
What inspires you the most?
That’s a hard question as inspiration is everywhere! Richard Avedon’s American West series taken between 1979 – 1984 was probably the most influential for me as it was the first book that really made me inspired to shoot people in a real and moving way. There is so much beauty in those images amongst the rawness of his subjects' lives.
As a photographer, and an artist, do you prefer to “capture the moment” or “create the moment”?
I’ll always be the one to ‘capture the moment’ but in order to do that a lot of work needs to happen before that moment can take place!
Working with lingerie can be quite difficult, making people comfortable in their own skin is something you do very well and it reflects in your images. How do you achieve this?
Thank you! There are a lot of elements that help with this process. It can be really daunting having your photograph taken and I always want the experience for the talent to be fun and enjoyable. It’s a combination of having the right team, good creative direction and connecting with the person who is in front of my camera on the day.
The Be Strong Be Beautiful campaign is one of our favourite campaigns. It has been a very inspiring and empowering campaign both for us as a company and for our customers. What was your favourite part of that shoot?
Body confidence is an issue I’m passionate about and one of the reasons I was thrilled to be involved with this shoot. My favourite part of the shoot was talking to Bryony, Amber and Stef about their body confidence issues and how sport had helped them through that. It was inspiring to work with three very different body shapes – all of them loving the skin they were in.
We are quite well known for our MORE collection. It is obviously different to the industry standard in terms of sizing. Did this influence how you shot the images?
I approached the creative for the MORE range exactly the same as any other range I’ve shot for Bluebella. For me, that was the point. There is a huge chunk of the population that have DD+ bust sizes and in the past they have either had to go to old-fashioned stores to get good support but the bras look terrible or buy something that looks good but with no support. It’s exciting there is now something fashion-led and supportive available.
At Bluebella we create lingerie for women, to empower them and make them feel amazing. Who is your photography for?
What a good question! It’s for lots of people I guess; the talent and team on the day to energize & inspire, the audience it finds after it’s gone to print & online which is varied depending on the shoot, and lastly it’s for me. It feeds my soul.
What would you say to women that put down lingerie as “not for them”?
I’d suggest picking a piece with a detail or strap that they would want the world to see. It’s incredible how powerful it feels to have your lingerie on show on.
What is your favourite Bluebella image that you have ever shot?
One of the shots from the AW16 campaign on the brick wall. We shot the entire day outside in December in the freezing cold – our model Eva was incredible.
I presume you have a wide collection of cameras; do you have one that you like shooting on the most?
My first professional camera was a Canon and I’ve stuck with them.
Who would you like to photograph the most if you could choose anyone?
Susan Sarandon, I love everything about who she is and what she does.
