This month we welcome Ellie Morag, photographer specialising in portrait photography. We spoke to Ellie about the sources of her inspiration, what made her pick up a camera for the very first time and her favourite creative resources.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hey, I’m Ellie, I’m a photographer from Edinburgh. I grew up in a small town called Peebles, but have been lucky enough to photograph all over the UK and USA. Last year I lived and worked in Atlanta, GA, and along with another photographer we shot Weddings, Arts Events and Portraits across America. It was an amazing adventure! 

What inspired you to first pick up a camera?
Initially it was graphic design that I was interested in. I love visual communication and relished in the creative process of making projects look and feel beautiful. But as time went on I grew frustrated by not finding the images I had in my head for the projects, so I started to take my own. Around that time I was also going to a lot of concerts and live music gigs. I loved the atmosphere and would often say to myself “I want to take photos that encompass that feeling”. Over time I became more interested in the photography than the design projects and it developed from there.

What subjects are you most drawn to?
I find people fascinating, I like movement and dancers are beautiful to photograph. I love the way they can control their bodies. Gig photography is fun because I adore playing with lighting and shadows. But I love the challenge of finding beauty in relatively normal situations; I like lighting, the way it hits people at various different times of the day. 

What is your favourite gear you are using at the moment?
My Nikon D750! I upgraded earlier this year and I absolutely love it because it pushes me to explore and not be lazy. There is so much it can do and I want to be able to use it to its greatest potential. My favourite lens is my 35mm prime. I like that it makes me think and work for my shots. My D750 has WIFI built so I can send photos to my iPhone which is great for events and previews on shoots.

Can you list a few of your creative resources?
Gosh I have so many! Creative Live – both their videos and blog are amazing, 99U, Creative Digest, Instagram, EyeEm, Pinterest, i-d magazine, ELLE, Vogue…the list goes on!

Please tell us the story behind one of your favourite photographs.

Imogen Cunningham has this quote “Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow”. I’m not sure I’ve taken my favourite shot yet. I found it really hard to choose, but if I had to it would be this one I took of a model last year. I was working on movement and the model had this wildly amazing hair so we were doing head tosses. I think this was maybe our 10th shot, but I love how you can see the outlines of her neck and jaw. I think it looks amazing.