Nadine Ijewere on making photographic history, and taking her foot off the pedal

It’s Nice That: What were your first creative experiences?

Nadine Ijewere: I’ve always liked arts and crafts, drawing and creating with my hands, and ceramics. My mum’s always been creative, we’d do art classes and things like that. It stemmed from a young age but for a while, I thought I’d do something more academic, as my dad’s more academic. But then I converted back because it wasn’t for me.

INT: When did you make that decision?

NI: When I was doing A-Levels. I was going to study medicine, but I did photography A-level on the side and I really enjoyed the whole process, all being analogue in a digital world, learning the traditional methods in the darkroom. So I decided I wanted to study it in more detail. 

INT: How did your parents react to that?

NI: My mum was really chilled, she’d always known I was into “art stuff”. My dad wasn’t OK in the beginning, but he let me do it. I didn’t have a plan, I just went with the flow of it all. I was so excited for LCF [London College of Fashion, where Nadine studied fashion photography], but I had no idea what I’d do afterwards. I just carried on with personal projects and shooting my friends, then I shared some on social media and jobs started to come in. 

INT: That’s why it must be so interesting when you look back on all your work, seeing how it evolves.

NI: It’s interesting because I can see how my style has developed as I’ve learned more about colour. The palettes have changed as I’ve learned more. Even the way in which I compose an image is different. I can appreciate straight-up photography for a few frames, but then I need something more dynamic. People always say there’s a sense of movement in my work, which I didn’t really see until I had it all in front of me. It’s not movement in the sense that they’re jumping in the air or that the model’s moving and I’m capturing it. It’s more the perspective, the shapes, the lines the garment creates or the body creates, that’s the movement... in the way your eye starts at one angle and comes down to another.

INT: Can you point to any other photographers or artists who’ve inspired you along the way?

NI: I love Malick Sidibé, Seydou Keïta; I still like classics like Richard Avedon, Irving Penn. Then I like a lot of documentary work, like Alex Webb, I love his images because it’s street photography but there’s something so dynamic about it, there’s always a sense of hustle and bustle and movement. And I love the depth of perspective – someone’s in front of the lens and something else is happening in the background. And the use of colour, it’s more contrasty, I think it really adds to his images.

I have a broad range of photography I like... it doesn’t necessarily inspire me as such. With my images, I’m trying to create my own story, with my own elements. I don’t look at other work and go, this is what I want to do, or I want to translate this. I like it because of what it is, and it’s what they do. 

INT: How do you achieve your aesthetic – what’s it like on a shoot with you?

NI: I’m very chilled on set. I’m inspired by the person in front of me, the environment, what’s happening, the use of colour, the styling, the hair, the make-up. It’s all coming together. I feed off all those things and just play. The important thing is to play. There’s not a formula. I don’t know how to explain it, it’s just organic. It’s just a mood, or what shape the garment creates on this person, or the shapes they’re creating. People have said my work has a romantic element to it. I don’t know what that means really!

INT: I can see that! Maybe it’s the colour, the wistfulness, the joy that’s coming out of it...

NI: When I’m doing images with groups of people, there’s a formula for how I like to create imagery where not everyone’s in the frame, parts of people are cut off, the heads not quite in. I like to play with those elements in the story. I find it more interesting than a straight-up group standing in an image. That’s what creates the sense of movement. I guess that’s a “formula”. Other than that, I like to be involved in all elements of the image: the casting, working with the stylist, the make-up and hair artists, I don’t just focus on the photography. Maybe that’s also part of the formula. 

INT: To make it more cohesive...

NI: All those things are contributing to the image, so I think it’s important, personally, to be involved in those aspects, because at the end of the day they’re going to be part of your creation.

INT: How has it changed your career? 

NI: My career has excelled which has been great, but also I didn’t realise how much of a responsibility it would put on me, suddenly becoming this spokesperson. I’m quite a private person, so when people wanted to know everything about me, it was quite difficult to adapt to. I’ve never been that person, I’ve always been about the story I’m telling with my pictures and that’s it. So that’s been interesting to navigate. It was an amazing thing and I’m grateful, but when you do something like that it brings pressure with it, you feel like you have to top it, people are waiting for the next thing and the next thing. I felt that pressure for a while but then the lockdown allowed me to take a step back and say it’s OK to not do everything. You can take a break and say no, and that’s super important. The mentality before was, the more you do, the more successful you are. Whereas I think there’s more success in taking a step back and reevaluating, doing things you’re passionate about.

So that’s the mentality I have now, I’ve slowed down and I enjoy it much more. Before I felt like I was constantly in ten places at once. For me, this feels better. 

Also because photography was a hobby, then it became a job, I’ve learned to have more going on outside of photography as well. If your passion becomes your job, what can happen is it merges into one. It’s important I have a balance now with work and life outside work; for mental health, it’s much more beneficial.

INT: Is there also a balance between commissioned work and client work, and being allowed the time to do your own projects too?

NI: There’s always been a balance on that. It’s just me feeling the pressure that I constantly had to be doing something. It was me pushing myself continuously, but now I know it’s OK as an artist to take a break or take some space. I think it’s healthier because then there’s more space to create. You’re not trying to do 20 things at once.

Generally, my relationship with work before the pandemic was an intense one. I think because our industry is based on accolades, it’s an exclusive club, fashion. That’s what it is, at the end of the day, who’s wearing what and all that. So it’s easy to get sucked up into that and feel validation in how well you’re doing. Since lockdown, I’ve changed my approach. I’m enjoying it for what it is now, more so. Being present. Respecting yourself and having a better relationship with yourself. Not trying to rush through everything all at once, when it doesn’t need to be that way. You can enjoy everything for what it is.