Categories
Women I've Shot

“The Housewives”, Private Commissions:
This is Ilse

(Note: “The Housewives” was a term I fondly coined in 2006 after I started getting shoot requests from private, individual women who became my clients. Many of the women who contacted me were married and in their mid 30’s and were doing the shoots as gifts to their husbands. The folder in my archives is still called this and so I’ve stuck to it, in part just for the irony: most of these women are not “housewives” at all, but strong independent and forward thinking women who I have had the honour of documenting.

All are private commissions and the demographic has changed substantially over the years. Some I’m still in contact with, others I’ve totally lost contact with, some have become friends, some may wish not to have their real names used, others don’t mind, some may have their faces obscured for privacy reasons, others have generously shared their experiences of being photographed.)

I met and photographed Ilse in 2009, just before I got my own studio so this shoot was done while I was part-time teaching at the Ruth Prowse Art School studio. Illicitly.
Ilse was great to work with, so body confident and we got through about 6-7 looks during her shoot. Ive selected a few and added them here. They were quite diverse: from more romantic and bedroom-y to dramatic B&W with a bondage feel.