Life & Work with “Eley” Eley of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to “Eley” Eley.

Hi “Eley”, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My relationship with photography started early, but it became serious once I realized it could be both a creative language and a way to understand people. I was drawn to portraiture from the beginning—not just how someone looks, but how they carry their history, their identity, and their emotional world. That curiosity led me to formally study photography, earning my BFA and later my MFA, which really cemented my belief that photography could live at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and impact.

Early on, I moved fluidly between fine art and commercial work. I was exhibiting in galleries, assisting other photographers, teaching, learning lighting from the ground up, and taking on freelance roles that exposed me to the realities of production and collaboration. At the same time, my personal work was deeply rooted in themes of identity, access, visibility, and human connection—ideas that still shape everything I create today.

Founding Eley Photo was a turning point. It allowed me to build a practice that didn’t force me to choose between art and commerce. My commercial work—especially in healthcare, portraiture, and brand storytelling—benefits directly from my fine art background. I approach commissioned work with the same care, empathy, and intention as personal projects, while bringing clients a high level of technical precision and narrative clarity.

Over the years, my work has taken me into hospitals, studios, remote landscapes, and intimate personal spaces. I’ve photographed public figures, healthcare providers, artists, and everyday people, always with the same goal: to create imagery that feels honest, grounded, and emotionally resonant. Trust and collaboration are central to my process, and I’m known for building rapport quickly something that matters whether I’m on a large commercial set or working one-on-one.

Today, I see my career less as a destination and more as an evolving practice. I continue to exhibit, pursue residencies, teach, and take on commercial projects that align with my values. At its core, my work is about visibility, care, and connection—using photography not just to show what something looks like, but to invite people to feel, reflect, and see one another more clearly.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not a smooth road. Like most creative careers, mine has been shaped as much by challenge as by success.

One of the biggest obstacles has been learning how to sustain a long-term practice in an industry that often prioritizes speed, trends, and access over depth and intention. As a Black woman working across both fine art and commercial spaces, I’ve had to navigate rooms where I wasn’t the assumed authority, where I had to prove my vision before it was trusted, and where opportunities weren’t always evenly distributed. That meant advocating for myself early, often, and sometimes uncomfortably.

There were also practical challenges—building a business without a safety net, learning pricing, usage, contracts, and production while still protecting the integrity of my work. I’ve experienced quiet periods, rejection, and moments where the work was strong but the response was slow. Those seasons can test your confidence and force you to ask hard questions about value, alignment, and sustainability.

Balancing fine art and commercial work has been its own challenge. For a long time, I felt pressure to separate the two, as if one needed to be justified by the other. It took time to fully trust that my fine art practice strengthens my commercial work—and that clients who value authenticity and depth are drawn to that intersection, not put off by it.

Burnout has also been real. Photography is physically, emotionally, and energetically demanding, especially when you’re responsible not just for the creative but for the business, leadership, and care of others on set. That’s pushed me to develop stronger boundaries, redefine success on my own terms, and prioritize longevity over constant visibility.

None of these challenges stopped me, but they did slow me down in ways that ultimately made the work stronger. They taught me discernment, resilience, and how to build a career that’s not just successful, but sustainable and aligned.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At its core, my work is about people, how they’re seen, how they’re represented, and how imagery can shift perception. I’m a photographer working across commercial, editorial, and fine art spaces, with a specialization in portraiture and human centered storytelling. Most of my commissioned work lives in healthcare, lifestyle, and brand storytelling, where trust, authenticity, and emotional clarity really matter.

I’m known for blending a documentary sensibility with polished commercial execution. That means my images feel honest and grounded, but they’re also technically precise, with thoughtful lighting, intentional composition, and a cinematic quality that elevates the narrative without overpowering it. Clients often come to me when they need imagery that feels real, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent, not overly staged or generic.

What I’m most proud of is my ability to build trust quickly. Whether I’m photographing a healthcare provider, a public figure, or someone who’s never been in front of a camera, I create environments where people feel seen and respected. That shows up in the work. There’s a quiet confidence and openness in the images that can’t be manufactured. It comes from collaboration, empathy, and presence.

My fine art practice deeply informs my commercial work. Years of exhibiting, teaching, and pursuing personal projects around identity, access, and visibility have sharpened my eye and my intention. I don’t approach assignments as one off visuals. I think in terms of narrative systems, how images live together, how they communicate values, and how they serve a larger purpose.

What sets me apart is that I don’t separate impact from aesthetics. I believe beautiful imagery can still be responsible, inclusive, and emotionally resonant. I care as much about how the subject feels during the process as how the final image performs in the world. That balance between care and craft, strategy and soul, is what defines my work and keeps clients returning.

Any big plans?
Looking ahead, my focus is on depth, alignment, and longevity. I’m intentionally refining the types of projects and partnerships I take on, prioritizing work that values trust, care, and meaningful storytelling over volume. A major part of this next chapter is expanding more fully into tourism and lifestyle work as a core focus, which allows me to work in environments that naturally align with my passion for documentary and humanitarian storytelling.

Tourism and lifestyle projects give me the opportunity to collaborate with clients who value culture, place, and human experience, while creating space for longer form narratives that feel both commercially viable and socially meaningful. This expansion opens up more fluid conversations between my fine art and commercial pursuits, rather than treating them as separate lanes. The work can inform itself in a more honest and sustainable way.

I’m continuing to grow my presence in healthcare and human centered commercial storytelling, while being more selective and intentional about scale and impact. At the same time, I’m investing in long term personal and fine art projects, including exhibitions and residencies, that allow me to explore themes of identity, healing, and visibility with greater depth and patience.

Education and mentorship are becoming a more visible part of my practice as well. Supporting emerging creatives and contributing to community driven initiatives feels like a natural extension of my values and experience.

Ultimately, the biggest change I’m planning for is not about doing more, but about doing the work in a way that feels deeply aligned. I’m building a career that supports both creative ambition and personal well being, with room for curiosity, care, and sustained impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eleyphoto.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eley_photo
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/eley-4955a667/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eley_photo