Personal and commissioned photography
Spanning food, travel, portraiture, editorial, and documentary work. 2016-present.
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Behind the shoot: A Friendsgiving dinner party for Happy Host × Tomato Wheels Lambrusco
Food
Community
Honey: A Series
Travel
Portraiture
EYELAND:
Directing Duality in Photography
EYELAND is a photography collaboration between the minds of Jemel May Ganal and Emilia Zibaei.
Every creative decision in EYELAND was made in service of a single idea: duality as dimension, not contradiction. The location choices, the lighting, the direction given to subjects, the edit—all of it was designed to sit in between states rather than resolve into one. This is art direction as conceptual thinking, not just set dressing.
Three choices that defined the visual world
Available light only: Artificial lighting introduces a point of view too clearly. Available light preserves the rawness of each environment and forces the subject to exist within the space rather than be lit against it.
Black and white processingas a core editing element: Removing colour removes the most immediate layer of information and forces the viewer to read form, texture, and expression. It slows looking down. Duality becomes more visible when there are fewer distractions.
Intentional subject and props: One subject, one set of props: honey and florals. No redos, no resets. As she moved through the space we moved with her, following rather than directing. The shoot had one continuous energy rather than a series of posed moments.
