the practice
Before the image, there is the person, the place, the idea, the instinct, the collection of things that sets us in motion.
That is where I like to begin.
ingaze is a creative practice by Laura Ilisii, working across photography, moving image and creative direction. I’m interested in what happens when we look closely enough at the inner spark to find the visual language that translates it, to look at the familiar with new eyes.
There is room for contradiction. For softness and intensity, restraint and excess, stillness and movement. For the parts that are polished and the parts that are more human. Not everything needs to look the same to feel considered.
My role is to pay attention, find what is specific, and translate it into images.
Sometimes that means directing. Sometimes it means stepping back. Sometimes it means making space for the unexpected to appear.
The work begins within, and moves outward.
That is the gaze.
laura
I’m Laura, the person behind ingaze.
I’ve always been interested in what is happening underneath anything, and in the space between what something is and how it is perceived. Like the person behind the image, the place behind the atmosphere, the work behind the finished thing.
Photography became the way I learned to look closely at all of that.
My background moves between creative direction, photography, events, people, places and very different kinds of creative worlds. I’ve lived in Romania, Mexico and Canada, and spent years working alongside artists, founders, makers and people building things of their own.
What I bring to a project is not a fixed aesthetic. It’s an eye, a way of paying attention, and a willingness to understand what is already there before deciding how to frame it.
That is what I’m interested in.
a creative
practice
exploring people, place, nature and the stories that connect them
personal brand
commercial
artisan series
working together
Maybe you’ve simply outgrown how you’re currently portrayed. The images say where you used to be, not where you are now. Maybe you’re building something new and need the visual language to catch up with your ideas, or help make them real.
Every project starts by understanding what you’re building, what makes it yours, and what the work needs to communicate. From there, we map the visual world together.
direction
Before anything is shot, we find the world.
That might mean references, mood, locations, movement, light, styling and a clear idea of what the finished work needs to communicate. For film, that means turning the story into a sequence of scenes and shots, so the visual language is clear before we arrive.
Sometimes you already know exactly what you want. Sometimes you know the feeling, but not yet the language for it.
making
Then we make it.
A portrait series, a personal brand story, a campaign, product imagery, a film, a documentary piece, or something that doesn’t fit neatly into a category.
I lead where leading is useful, leave space where it isn’t, and shape the final work through the edit.
how it starts
A conversation first.
Tell me what you’re building, where you’re at and what you need the work to do. From there, I’ll shape a proposal around the project, the direction I think will serve it best, and the way we can make it work.