Cleo Leather is a Jersey born, Bristol based photographer and videographer. Although having 5 years experience working in the industry, shooting events, lifestyle, weddings and family, Cleo finds her motivations in fashion and portraiture. Inspired by natural light, nostalgia and poetry, Cleo's aesthetic is unique and sophisticated.

“The freedom to express her individual creativity and take full artist direction on the shoot."

Tell us about your path to setting up your business and what motivated you?

She kick started her photographic career at 15 when she sort after summer work experience, that she then returned to the following summer. At 17 she photographed her first solo christening and then acted as second photographer for a wedding. Since then she has built her career up successfully as a self taught, intuitive young photographer. Motivated and inspired by the cinema she immersed herself in, she began learning how to capture moving image and how to create short films. Built on the music that made her feel, her short films have always been deeply personal, emotive and intimate, resonating with a myriad of individuals.

How do you work and what is a typical day like for you?

Cleo works swiftly. She finds it impossible to let RAW files sit on an SD card, and has got into the habit of delivering work within 24hrs of shooting. Every day is different, but a typical day might include building mood boards to articulate the vision of the shoot to the creative team, crunching through admin and sending off invoices... Between professional shoots, Cleo likes to take her camera out socially and shoot for fun with friends and family where she has the freedom to express her individual creativity and take full artist direction on the shoot.

What are the best parts about your business?

The unpredictability and serendipity of rejecting the 9 to 5.