Tonje Lilleås

I'm a 38 year old creator currently based in the Norwegian town of Hamar. Here I live with my wife, two boys and our dog. I grew up among fjords and mountains in the north-western part of Norway, but never really recognized the amazingly beautiful surroundings before I'd moved away and came back to visit. Through my creative work I try to offer moments of both adventure and solitude to help people lower their shoulders and remember to breathe and enjoy life. Raw, natural, candid moments. Nothing more, nothing less.

MY WAY

BEHIND THE SCENES

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WE ARE ALL INFLUENCED BY OTHERS IN THE WAY WE WORK CREATIVELY, SO IN A SENSE NO-ONE IS TRULY UNIQUE.

PHOTO

I’m mainly an outdoor lifestyle and landscape photographer. I love getting to know the places and people I photograph before I bring my camera out. This way I feel it’s easier to capture personality both in people and places. When I feel the drive and inspiration to create and capture, I’m in my favorite state of mind. And to get there I have to feel some sort of connection to what I’m shooting.

When shooting a landscape I try to make it reflect my emotional landscape as I shoot. I don’t bother too much about things being technically perfect. I find more interest in caring about the mood and the feeling that I want to communicate. This means that my landscapes are not always balanced, not always sharp and not always perfectly exposed. But it also means that the flaws that I choose to show are intentional parts of what I create.

My portrait style is natural, honest and unposed. I like it when what I create look  candid, and try to get to the point where I’m truly just an observer.  To the point where people I am shooting don’t take notice of me anymore. To get to that point I make sure people feel comfortable before we start shooting. I tell you about how I like to work. And we talk about what the idea of the shoot is, and what our common goal is. What kind of images do we want from this shoot? This way we work together instead of me just telling you what to do.

Working with adventure and outdoorsy lifestyle photography is where I feel most comfortable. I love to tell stories of adventure and exploration in nature. Making sure we don’t cause any harm to the natural playground, leaving as little trace as possible. Hence I’m a true believer that there’s always more to explore locally.

VIDEO

It’s difficult to catch someones attention in the over saturated media world we’re surrounded by. I find that a lot of the time people end up trying to speak louder and faster than everyone else through their creations. This easily becomes too busy, and leaves little time to reflect on what the message of the creative work is. What do we want people to be left with after having seen something we create?

My videos aim at lowering the pace. Not in a way that makes them boring, but in a way that leaves room for my viewer to think, reflect and breathe. Just like with my images I’m not so concerned about the technical perfection if it doesn’t help the story. Sometimes technical perfection kills the mood. For me it’s story first, mood second. And then the right level of technical perfection to suit the story and mood last.

IT'S ALL ABOUT CREATING AND CONVEYING A MOOD. TO GET THE VIEWER TO A PLACE WHERE THEY ACTUALLY CAN EXPERIENCE HOW IT FELT TO BE IN THE MOMENT YOU'RE SHOWING THEM.

MY GEAR

Tools I use to get from ideas to creative content

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Most of my creative work is made outside. However I have set up a workspace in our family room. That way I can always be close to family even if I have a lot to do, and I am always able to start sketching and planning content that I think of when I’m in the shower or making dinner.

I don’t think gear is the most important thing to create great content, but it’s important that it doesn’t hold you back. In my workspace at home I have an iMac that I use for editing images in Lightroom and Photoshop. Video editing I do on my MacBook Pro in Final Cut Pro X. Not sponsored by Apple, just like the products. If you’re wondering what’s in my camera bag, please check out the updated list.

If you want to work with me, you are more than welcome to come over for a coffee and a chat to see if we are a good match. Get in touch, I look forward to getting to know you!