I’ve mastered the art of creating natural expressions in atypical situations!
Photography is art, but it’s also science. An image needs to bleed emotion, capturing the light and shadow of our soul. It needs depth and restraint, but lightness and humour. The end game is you want to see authentic expression, and something that feels like you in your business branding, your corporate portrait, or your family celebration. What I see is an opportunity to play with life and its ingredients, and see what our unique photoshoot recipe is.
Natural light, an overcast Melbourne day or a sunny Sydney one, a few lightly ‘crafted’ moments that produce true depth of expression, some curious questions, a quip or two…and before you know it you and we have created an image that shows the depth and the light of you. I’ve been told I make it look simple, but you know as well as I do, that a craft takes many years to perfect. I’d be happy if everyone left a shoot like Lindy saying “Wow that was surprisingly enjoyable and efficient!”
tell the story
Alese Watson
Servicing leading edge professionals for 15+ years
Inspired by the world we might collaboratively create when more of us show up as the intrinsic leaders we are, Alese has a vision to see people leading from their uniqueness and authenticity.
After professionally photographing more than 10,000 people, from a Cuban tobacconist in Havana, through to the Malaysian President, she learned there is an authentic leadership story in everyone. Her calling is to capture your essence and resonance and make it the story that is told about you.
Sometimes we need someone to witness us, before we can truly see ourselves.
Life is full of meaningful and transformative moments – from your first promotion to a leadership role, to the metamorphosis to married life, some with more “to-do” than others – these are the rites of passage that make a life, and the moments we reflect on that meant something. To see that moment reflected in your eyes through your photos later in life, it is important.
Alese’s photography becomes a tool for fostering self-discovery, building connections, and amplifying your impact. She creates an ease in your session that is crucial for capturing your authentic leadership style.
A Dying Breed of Photographic Technician
Alese is adept with the technical side of photography, trained in both studio and natural lighting photography. She doesn’t rely on pre-sets or computer filters, in fact anything in post-production. So what you see on the back of the camera in the day is pretty close to the end product. She has worked hard to understand how light works and moves and utilises that to build emotion into the image working with light and shadow.
with a curious heart and open mind
Alese wants to understand the depth of what makes each client tick, in the short time they have together. But she doesn’t do this through a series of rigid machine gun-style questions. She recognizes that life is serious, and while she will capture her clients taking their roles seriously, she believes they can have a laugh while they do it!
For Alese, comedy is a leveller, creating common ground. And it’s on that common ground where she finds the answers to what is important to her clients, and how they fit in the context of the life moment she is capturing, be it a wedding, a leadership role, a personal rebrand or family event.
and an unbridled love for David Attenborough
Fostered by her love of watching David Attenborough documentaries as a teenager, Alese now dedicates a portion of the year to travelling the world. As the quiet observer, the landscapes, their people and the living environment reveals itself to her lens.
Africa is her continent of choice. Alese has spent countless hours photographing the wildlife and documenting her travels.
“I don’t believe there is anywhere else on earth but Africa, that you can feel so simultaneously insignificant and alive”.
Alese
praise
We are so grateful for her work and I highly recommend you make her part of your next event
"Alese’s work is incredible. Alese joined us to celebrate our daughter’s Christening and first birthday. It was a big event with lots of family and lots going on. Alese professionally, calmly and in a non intrusive way managed to capture the most amazing images of our day. Special moments with grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles that we will treasure forever. So many brilliant images, we were so impressed Alese captured so many. We are so grateful for her work and I highly recommend you make her part of your next event or allow her to capture that special moment. Thanks again Alese!"
Kim Buchanan
She has a great eye for detail and framing shots and was able to get photos of everyone and everything we needed.
"I used Alese for a corporate tree planting event in the Sutherland Shire and she was fantastic to work with. She has a great eye for detail and framing shots and was able to get photos of everyone and everything we needed. She got the images to us efficiently and they've been well received by everyone. She is also delightful and warm to work with so was able to put everyone at ease in front of the camera. I would highly recommend her for your photography needs."
Rebecca Peake
We couldn't have been more impressed with Alese's professionalism and warmth.
"I engaged Alese to be the official photographer for The Australian Industry Group's 150th anniversary celebration in Melbourne in August. It was a wonderful occasion, attended by the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, among other special guests. We couldn't have been more impressed with Alese's professionalism and warmth. She was a delight to work with and provided me with a bunch of "hero shots" that we could share on social media the next morning, with the rest available that week. We chose Alese to cover this important event after being impressed with the beautiful corporate headshots she took of Ai Group staff in Melbourne earlier in the year. I fully recommend Alese and have already booked her for another Ai Group function later this year."
Wendy Larter
Alese impressed us with the depth of consideration she gave to our shots and their intended audience
"Alese's talent, which enables her to capture so many brilliant images (that her subjects are actually happy with), lies in her wonderful personality as much as her technical expertise. With a magic combination of humour and humility, Alese puts her subjects completely at ease - in fact, the experience is fun, even for those who "hate getting their photo taken"!! Alese impressed us with the depth of consideration she gave to our shots and their intended audience (amongst many other things). A consummate professional, Alese makes everything easy, dealing with many personalities, moving parts, and anything that comes up, all calmly in her stride. Our experience getting new corporate shots done by Alese was 100% positive. All staff commented on how great Alese was. Some shots have already been put to great use - now we need to get them up on our website!! Thanks so much, Alese, on behalf of us all at Precision Marketing Asia Pacific!"
Nicola Henderson
The shots are imposing, cinematic, well thought through
"I employed Alese for a photoshoot for my client Monica. I had been developing her personal brand, and we have got to the point where we needed some fantastic shots for her website, media speaking kit, social media, book covers and more. I knew Alese would apply a level of creative thinking, and skill that i hadn't experienced with other photographers. I was bang on. The shots are imposing, cinematic, well thought through, and so much skill in the actual shot and not in the post edit, which meant the turn around was super quick and impressive. I would highly recommend anyone looking to elevate their personal brand to Alese, whether you're an emerging corporate leader, subject matter experts, coaches, consultants, speakers - Alese is your woman!"
Kath Clarke
She puts people at ease - which is so important. And her photos are amazing
"I first connected with Alese at a previous role but quickly brought her across to my current employer when I changed roles. She is an absolute professional and a pleasure to work with. She puts people at ease - which is so important. And her photos are amazing. Alese has a real talent for bringing out the best in her subjects and delivering attractive, natural results (rather than the over-processed, fake look that you sometimes see in corporate headshots). I've also had the pleasure of working with Alese outside a corporate environment where there was more opportunity for her to apply her considerable talents. I highly recommend speaking to her if you're looking to explore some more creative ideas."
Michael Bortolotti
Alese made us all feel comfortable during the shoot and captured lovely, natural moments
"Alese took family shots with our 18 month old. Anyone with a toddler knows how hard it is to get them to take directions so I was worried beforehand that it would be stressful and we wouldn’t get any nice shots. I shouldn’t have been as Alese took a range of beautiful photos, mostly when we didn’t even realise she was taking them. Alese made us all feel comfortable during the shoot and captured lovely, natural moments. Her relaxed tone when providing direction to get more ‘posed’ shots made it really easy to respond.I’ve also had a corporate shot done by Alese, which I was really happy with. She’s so adaptable; a complete professional in a corporate environment and warm, friendly and fun when taking family shots."
Jessica Richards