HI, I’M ELENA
I’m a photographer with more than twenty years behind the camera, a background in psychology, counselling and coaching, and a long-standing fascination with the way we see ourselves.
I’ve always been interested in people and their stories. Photography became one way of exploring that curiosity, psychology became another. Over the years, the two have become increasingly difficult for me to separate, because taking a beautiful photograph is one thing, watching someone look at that photograph and say, “Is that really me?” is something else.
HOW IT STARTED
I first became interested in photography when I was ten, after my uncle gave me his old film camera. Film was expensive then, so every frame mattered. You couldn’t take fifty photographs and choose the best one later, so learned to think before pressing the button.
Years later, in my late twenties, I became Marketing Director for an American chain of photography studios “Glamour shots”. Whenever I had the chance, I found myself helping the photographers: moving backdrops, adjusting lights and watching how they worked with people. That was where portrait photography really got me.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CAMERA
My background includes psychology, counselling and coaching. That interest in how we see ourselves has gradually become a bigger part of my photography too. I’m particularly fascinated by what can happen when someone sees herself in a photograph differently from the way she has become used to seeing herself in the mirror.
I’m passionate about how a photoshoot can change the way you see yourself, not just for a moment, but for much longer.
WHY THE OTHER MIRROR?
We’re so good at seeing what we don’t like about ourselves. A mirror can become a place where we look for the extra weight, the lines that weren’t there ten years ago, the bits we wish were different. But that isn’t necessarily how other people see us.
Photography gives us another perspective: different light, different angles, and, most importantly, another pair of eyes.
That idea became The Other Mirror: not a different person, not a perfected version of you. Still you. Just seen differently.
The Other Mirror is a boudoir photography project by Elena Jeffries Photography, bringing together my experience in portrait photography and my interest in how we see ourselves.
AND WHEN I’M NOT BEHIND THE CAMERA…
I’m usually learning something. I’m continuing my studies in counselling, and I’m particularly interested in the relationship between photography and self-image, something I hope to explore through research in the future.
I love hiking, usually with a camera somewhere within reach, and I’m happiest outdoors.
I’m also slightly ridiculous about animals. There are already quite a few in my life, and yet I’m almost permanently considering whether there might be room for just one more cat.
I’m endlessly curious about people: what makes us who we are, the stories we carry, and why we see ourselves so differently from the way other people see us.