Cinematic portraits of people & couples — London
I MAKEEVERYONE SEETHE ARTISTIN YOU
Based in London
*Available worldwide
SELECTED WORK
ABOUT
I’m Irene Ardan — a photographic artist in London. I make cinematic portraits of people and couples, built like films, about the version of you that rarely gets out.
A session here works the way a short film does: a place with a story, real light, direction the whole way through. You don’t come to pose. You come to spend an evening as the self you usually keep indoors — freer, more deliberate, more alive — and you leave with proof that this person exists.
SESSIONS & COMMISSIONS
Sessions start from £400, and every one begins with a conversation — about who you are, what the photographs are for, and what should be true in them by the end.
Portraits
One person, one idea, one cinematic session — for women and for men. Actors, musicians and writers use these portraits for press, covers and programmes; most people come for a simpler reason — to meet the version of themselves they suspected was there.
Couples
A session about what there is between the two of you, built like a short film: a place, light, clothes, direction. No posing experience expected — I direct you both throughout. For couples who dance, and couples who don't.
Editorial & concept
Full conceptual productions: an idea developed together, art direction, location, styling. The kind of series you see in the portfolio — made about you.
Backstage & rehearsals
Rehearsals, studios, fittings, the hour before the doors open. I shoot the making of the work as documentary cinema — the material your audience never sees and always wants. I don’t photograph the performance itself; I photograph what it costs.
“Through the lens I was seen as the man I would like to be. And I didn't have to try — I stayed myself. A rare privilege.”
Max.
“I arrived completely undone — and you peeled my shell away with such lightness. I like myself so much in these. So alive!”
Natasha.
“It will be one of the best photo sessions of your life, if not the best ❣️”
Dina.
START A CONVERSATION
Every commission begins with a conversation. Here is how a shoot with me usually unfolds — and why sending an enquiry commits you to nothing at all.
- 01
We talk it through
We start by message and settle the details together: the purpose of the shoot — a creative or professional project, or something entirely personal and private — and what you would like it to say. No experience in front of the camera, and no idea how to pose, is needed.
- 02
Preparation & moodboard
Where it helps, I gather references and put together a moodboard, so we both have a clear picture of where we are heading before the day itself. If you'd like it, I'll also suggest ideas for clothing and hair.
- 03
The shoot
On the day I guide you throughout — you never have to find the pose on your own. The whole point is that you feel at ease, so the pictures look like you at your most yourself.
- 04
Your photographs
Thirty individually finished photographs, delivered through a private gallery within ten days.
Ask me anything — an enquiry places you under no obligation whatsoever.
Not ready to write yet? Get an occasional letter from the studio instead.