Ellen Duffy is one of the new generation of up-and-coming photographers who, rather than being motivated by the lure of a quick buck for pointing and shooting, has a real passion for the craft. The problem is that a true passion for anything doesn’t allow anything except the best, and Ellen is her own conscience when it comes to producing high quality work. The fact that she doesn’t restrict herself to any one particular field makes her life a little more difficult as well.

‘I don't think I can really put myself under any category with photography, I dabble in a little of everything every day. I'm drawn to my idea of beauty, it doesn't matter what form that's in. I guess I've learnt this year that I'm more of a 'people photographer' than photographing commercial work like food or landscape. I need to photograph people because I feel constantly challenged by that, you can control a photoshoot with a bowl of fruit for instance, but when you're in the studio or in location with a model you are constantly waiting and searching for that perfect shot with that person that you may or may not get. I like that risk.

At the moment I'm studying photography at NMIT, assisting an amazing fashion photographer Peter Coulson, and additionally working alongside an inspirational up-and-coming photographer Kim Camilleri, so I've kept myself pretty busy this year. Kim and I are putting together a Fetish photography calendar for 2008 which has so far been an eye opening experience.





Just twelve months ago I found it so difficult to get models for the shoots I do, but now I have so many asking me to shoot them it's bizarre. I never ever saw myself doing the work I do now, photographing nude or semi-nude women. I guess it all stems from my love for life-drawing in high school, seeing the female form as lighting and composition and not viewing the model as a piece of meat. That's one major advantage of being a female photographer- you are much more likely to be trusted because the models know I'm not some sleazy wannabe male photographer who's going to use the image for inappropriate reasons.

I hate the idea of my work ever going towards the tacky non-fine-art direction of looking like porn; I hope my work always shows the female form as beautiful. I shot a Suicide Girls model earlier in the year and I was told the images I took were 'too artistic' and 'too fine art' which I found amusing. I'd rather not shoot at all that produce smutty work.’

Much of Ellen’s work appears as quite dark to the viewer, both in content and composition. This is not a conscious choice on her part, and after some advice from the more experienced, she no longer fights the tendency.

‘I never aim for my work to be dark; it seems to just always turn out that way. I actually really tried once to produce bright happy high key portraits and I automatically ended up desaturating them and giving them all a cyan cast. I can't help it! The way I see the world is in more darkened flattened moody tones, I just find the world more appealing that way. I've been waiting a while now for me to grow out of this 'dark' phase but it seems to have stuck to me. I tried fighting this style I seem to have developed over the years but was told by many teachers not to fight it - I have a style now so I may as well develop and master it as best as I can.





There is thankfully a large market out there for my kind of photography so I'm not totally a lost cause. Thanks to teenagers, I'm not the only moody one who likes and sees the darker side of life.'

Given that so much of Ellen’s photography revolves around the human form and some of her nude work can be quite risqué, it would be reasonable to assume that she would draw her models from the pool of professionals in Melbourne. Instead, she finds that sometimes the best people to use are the more ordinary of us.

‘I've always found it strange how the way someone can look in person can be completely different to how they are on camera. I've found the most beautiful people to model for me yet the facial expressions could come out stiff and awkward, whereas a less aesthetically appealing individual could produce amazing images. I'm happy shooting anyone, but I guess I aim for models that have uniqueness about them and know how to carry themselves.

They can be any race, colour, gender, size, anything, but if they are funky dressers, have wacky hair, a great attitude, confident, well proportioned, piercings, tattoos, big eyes, any or all of the above, then I'd love for them to model for me! I can be a little creepy sometimes though, I've been known to go up to innocent folk on public transport and ask them to model for me. God, if someone did that to me I'd start driving more often, and catching public transport less.’

Ellen also works as a photographer for bands, most often from the alternative rock side of the industry, where her own particular style goes hand in hand with the music that of the bands. It’s a state of affairs that came about entirely by accident.

‘I started off when I was getting stuck into wedding photography about March of 2006, and was asked to help out my friend’s band, Exit Wounds. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, was terrible at low light photography, had had too much coffee that day and I didn't have the right lens on my camera. The images were naturally terrible but it was a learning experience, I learnt how to talk myself and my work up to clients even when I know it's terrible.

From there I was, for some odd reason, recommended to shoot another band, Behind Crimson Eyes, so I ended up doing live shots for them and then some promotional shots too. I now shoot bands almost every week at the nightclub I attend, Switch, in Glenferrie, and occasionally get my images into BEAT magazine. Band photography doesn't excite me though, I don't feel challenged enough. And it means I can't drink, and on Saturday nights it's hard to prioritise between photography and drinking.’