A Jersey-born photographer has made her billboard debut with her work being showcased at an iconic London landmark.
28-year-old Elise Kleis has had her work displayed around London, including on a billboard in Piccadilly Circus.
She is now gaining attention with her work currently displayed around the city, with further billboards planned in other locations worldwide, including LA.
The photographs that are currently on display are part of a project Elise worked on for Tmrw Mag called ‘Fraternite: Pillars of Us‘.
The project is described as “a powerful exploration of the roles black men play in society, emphasising themes of unity, resilience, emotion, and brotherhood”. It aims to “showcase the beauty and strength of black male identity, while tackling the stereotypes and social pressures often placed on black men”.
Elise said the opportunity came around in January this year after she was contacted by a creative director she’d met at Fashion Week a few years ago.
She said: “Two years later, they reached out to me and asked if I wanted to be involved in a big editorial they were doing for Tmrw magazine.”
“I said yes, and four days later we shot the editorial, then sent them off to the magazine which was really happy with them,” she added.
The London-based fashion photographer grew up on the island and attended Beaulieu, before going on to complete a photography degree in Bristol.
After graduating from university, Elise temporarily returned to Jersey due to covid.
During her return to the island, she worked on various local projects, including making promotional fashion videos for Voisin’s department store.
Elise later relocated to the UK where she secured herself a job working for the well-known fashion brand Superdry.
She described the job as “the best opportunity” for an aspiring fashion photographer as she had the chance to “try it all”, including working on shoots abroad in Gran Canaria.
After a few years with the brand, Elise decided to follow her dream of living in London.
“I wanted to move to London to push myself further,” she explained.
“It was always something that I wanted to do, but I was too scared. One day, I decided I was going to do it and I came to London,” she added.
She is now working for Jonathan Knowles (Studio Knowles), which deals with specialist advertising.
Elise said: “I’ve now been working as a first assistant to a big advertising photographer in London for about a year now and learning the ropes of the industry.”
“However, I’m about to start a new job working for a production company as a photographer,” she added.
Asked for her advice for other aspiring artists and what she has done to get her to the position she is today, she said: “What led me to this point in my career was always pushing myself and never settling.
“When something is good and I feel like I’ve got the most out of it, I’ll move on.”
“I don’t want to settle because I have these big goals and I have these big dreams to be a big fashion photographer that very renowned and well known.”
“So I don’t want to just settle at a job, even if I am happy, I always want to keep pushing myself.”
You can keep up to date with Elise’s work on her Instagram (@elisekleis).