MPB Meets: Leia Morrison with Boys by Girls

Award-winning photographer Leia Morrison @leiamiamorrison, who has worked with clients including Vice magazine, Hiut Denim and the band Mumford and Sons, was recently featured as part of our collaboration with Boys by Girls magazine. In the third and final interview of this series, we caught up with Leia Morrison to discuss her work, inspirations and advice for aspiring photographers. Over to you, Leia.

MPB: Could you tell us more about yourself and your creative background?

LM: I’m a portrait photographer currently based in West Wales. I graduated from the University of the West of England last year, during the pandemic, with first-class honours in photography. My work mainly focuses on capturing the lifestyles and personalities of the people around me.

MPB: The shoot you completed was following a brief of ‘freedom’. Could you tell us more about the body of work you completed for the project?

LM: I wanted to create a series with palpable energy. Informed by costume parties, kitsch and festival aesthetics, I chose to opt for a jovial and lucid shoot. For many young men, lockdown and social distancing reinforced certain restrictive, hands-off approaches to friendships and relationships. Here, I wanted to foreground the joy in connection and create a series that celebrates male friendships with tactility, foolery and fun.

MPB: Could you talk us through the kit you chose with your prize and why you chose them? How did the kit enhance your work?

LM: After much deliberation and excitement scrolling through all the amazing kit on the MPB website, I finally came to a decision and selected three new lenses for my Sony A7 III and a GoPro Hero8 Black. The 85mm, 50mm f/1.8 AF FE and 35mm f/1.8 FE lenses really enhanced this shoot and gave me a lot more opportunity for variation in composition, depth and proximity. I was able to get close, intimate portraits as well as wider, almost fisheye, full-body shots.

MPB: How was the experience of working with Elizabeth Weinberg? What were the parts of her advice you felt helped you the most?

LM: It was a really great experience talking to Elizabeth about the mentoring element of the prize. Since leaving uni, I’ve really missed having that time to discuss my work and develop ideas with other photographers. I live in quite a rural part of Wales, and so speaking to someone who lives in Los Angeles was also really great as she offered a completely different perspective—asking me about elements I hadn’t really considered beforehand.

MPB: What are the biggest inspirations for your work?

LM: Generally, my main inspiration comes from the people and the landscapes around me. Most of my ideas come to me when I’m in, or near, the sea, hence why many of my projects explore the water—The Lifeguards and Swim, for example. I also tend to use my friends as my models, in both my personal and commercial work, as I find having a connection with the subject really beneficial. It feels more authentic and collaborative, and knowing different things about my subjects tends to lead to new ideas developing during the shoot.

In terms of gaining inspiration from other photographers and artists, Instagram is my go-to. I love the possibility of stumbling across other creatives at the tap of a button and the ease of making photography connections across the globe. Right now I’m loving the work of Erinn Springer @springerinn, Lavinia Cernau @lavinia_cernau and Lena Aires @love.errs. And, thanks to the Boys by Girls and MPB, I’ve fallen in love with the work of fellow winners Regine David @reginedavid and Pip Bourdillon @pipbourdillon.

MPB: What advice would you have for aspiring photographers? 

LM: My advice to anyone trying to get into photography would be to just keep shooting. Some of my best work has come from days where I’ve felt somewhat lost or uninspired but have just decided to persevere and pick up the camera anyway. I never thought that I would be able to be a photographer as my full-time job and honestly, it is a dream come true, made possible by pushing through those days that felt a little tougher.

MPB: Do you have any plans for the future?

LM: I’m really excited to be starting a new project on foraging this autumn. Inspired by my great-aunt and great-uncle, who are forever foraging the woodlands and beaches of Anglesey, the hope is to shadow several different foragers within the UK and educate myself and others in the process. 

Thanks, Leia. You can see more of Leia Morrison’s work on Instagram @leiamiamorrison and at leiamorrison.com and learn more about Boys by Girls magazine. To discover the work of the other MPB x Boys by Girls competition winners, read the MPB interview with Regine David or read the MPB interview with Pip Bourdillon.

For more interviews, tips and techniques and camera gear guides, visit the MPB content hub.