I'm Leyla Mai, documentary photographer and storyteller...
My work spans social impact or local stories, and the preservation of history and knowledge, alongside personal projects exploring the wider inquiry of life. It's a documentary practice built on the belief that curiosity and empathy are how we come to greatly understand each other.
Working across both analog and digital photography, I start slowly. Before my camera comes out, I spend time understanding what matters to the people and places I'm working with - what they want seen, what context should travel with an image, and what doesn't need to. That understanding is the work as much as the photographs are.
My path to this work wasn't a straight line. I co-founded and directed LLO Group working as the creative director, leading a multidisciplinary team of eighteen across creative direction, photography, design and production. I later co-founded Damsel Collective, a women's and FLINTA community space built around the commitment to provide accessible resource, space and belonging to our communities. Both taught me things a photography education alone wouldn't have, from how to build trust with a room full of strangers, how to hold a project from idea through to delivery, and most importantly, how to work in close proximity to somebody else's goal, mission or voice and to lend everything I know how to do in service of it.
That's the ethos I bring to every project now. One that is subject-led and collaborative, one built on informed, ongoing consent. The people I photograph aren't subjects of the work; they're active participants in it, with a say in how they're represented, from the shoot through to how the images are used.
I'm currently building an independent documentary practice, taking on a small number of projects: documentary, editorial, cultural, community and social impact, alongside portraiture, whilst developing longer-form personal work alongside it. If something you're working on needs time, care and a considered visual record, I'd like to hear about it.
P.S. I also run photography walks in London - They're friendly and accessible with a theme or challenge each time to help you develop your eye and own visual language alongside the best company every time. Find out more @shoot.conscious on Instagram.
Contact Information
Feel free to reach out to me using any of the methods below. I'll get back to you as soon as possible to discuss how we can work on exciting projects together.
I look forward to seeing what we can make together!
leyla.shootconscious@gmail.com
Social Media
Enjoy taking a look around my site, and get in touch when you're ready!
