Leon Vale

A man with dark curly hair in a black coat sits against a concrete wall, looking over his shoulder into low window light.

Portrait, fashion and editorial photography. Based worldwide, shooting everywhere.

Click to take the shot.

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02 · The camera

Built piece by piece.

Twelve parts, one exposure. Scroll to put it together, drag to turn it.

01Body shell
02Sensor
03Mirror box
04Lens mount
05Lens barrel
06Glass elements
07Aperture ring
08Shutter button
09Dials
10Strap lugs
11Viewfinder
12Back screen

Assembly00 / 12

Drag to turn

Final check. The shutter fires.

Frame 01 · Exposed

03 · Benefits

Why work with me?

Great photography is more than a service. It is an experience built on collaboration, trust, and creativity.

Spec sheet · AR-2014Contents: one photographer, no surprises

01 / Over 10+ years experience

Portraits, fashion and editorial, since 2014.

02 / Shot with the best camera gear

Full-frame bodies, fast primes, one good meter.

03 / Professional editing included

Every final graded and retouched by hand.

A young woman in a striped wool sweater leans on a car in golden evening light, her hair lifted by the wind.

RawGraded

04 / Seamless client experience

One contact from the first call to delivery.

Two hands reaching toward each other through a warm beam of light, their fingertips almost touching.

05 / Tailored to your vision

Your story first. My style follows it.

06 / Trusted, and on time

524

satisfied clients

7 day turnaround

First edit within a week. Finals soon after.

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04 · The exposure triangle

Find the shot.

Three dials decide every photograph I make. Turn them yourself and the picture answers. Get the light right and you will know.

The meter says

The crowd moves. He doesn't.

f/2.8 · 1/125 s · ISO 100

f/1.4f/2f/2.8f/4f/5.6f/8f/11f/16

Aperture

f/2.8

1/21/41/81/151/301/601/1251/2501/5001/1000

Shutter speed

1/125

100200400800160032006400

ISO

100

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05 · Selected work

The contact sheet

Every roll lands here first. Circle the frames you like with the grease pencil, then send your selects with a booking enquiry.

A young man in a blue jacket stands perfectly still on a zebra crossing while the crowd streams past him in a warm blur. — Passersby, frame 0135mm · f/8 · 1/8 s · ISO 100

Circle a frame and it prints here.

Open Passersby

Proof · Roll 14 · 19 framesRENNER 400 TX

Passersby, Paris ’26

Afterimage, Prishtina ’25

Open Field, Provence ’25

Lightfall, Berlin ’24

Concrete Psalms, Marseille ’24

Golden Hour, Camargue ’23

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06 · The darkroom

Some pictures are made twice.

Once in the camera and once in the tray. Keep scrolling to develop the print. Hold and drag across it to dodge, hold Alt or Shift while you drag to burn.

01Developer. 90 seconds.
02Stop bath. 30 seconds.
03Fixer. 5 minutes.
04Lights on.

A young woman in a white blouse at sunset, her hair blown across her face, the whole frame soft and golden.

0:00Developer. 90 seconds.

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07 · The studio light

One light, moved a little.

Drag the light around the portrait. The face stays the same. Everything else changes.

Butterfly
Rembrandt
Split
Rim
Under

Up and to the side. A triangle of light on the far cheek.

Light softness30%Hard, bare bulbSoft, big box

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08 · The process

Four steps, no surprises.

low sun, 6 pm?

35mm, eye level

ask about the coat

Step 01 / 04

Consultation

We talk before anyone holds a camera. What the pictures are for, who will see them, and how you want to feel in them.

warm, quiet, wind

Step 02 / 04

Planning and moodboard

Locations, light, wardrobe and timing, gathered on one board so nothing on the day is a surprise.

f- - -

1/250ISO 400

Measure

Step 03 / 04

The shoot

Calm, unhurried and mostly conversation. I take the readings, you forget the camera is there.

AR · Delivery

48 frames, graded

Leon Vale

Step 04 / 04

Delivery and retouching

A first edit within seven days, then hand retouched finals, graded to match, in a private gallery.

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09 · Kind words

Notes on the backs of prints.

Clients write on the back of the print I send them. These are a few I kept. Turn one over to see who wrote it.

Print 01 / 04

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Blog

Behind the lens

Thoughts, insights, and stories from my photography journey. Take a peek into my creative process and recent projects.

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A man in a dark jacket stands in a shaft of white light that falls across his face from above.

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