Aisha Ife: The Lagos Photographer Spotlighting Joy

“For me a camera is just any device I can use to take a photo.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be a DSLR or a mirrorless — you know those “camera cameras”.

Aisha Ife’s first camera was a phone; an iphone 6s with which she took Landscape photos and pictures of buildings around Lagos. Known for her soulful portraiture and clean, intentional product photography, she captures both people and objects with a sense of care, clarity, and emotional depth. Whether she’s photographing a brand campaign or a headshot, Aisha’s images are grounded in feeling,  celebrating the beauty of presence and simplicity.

Photography wasn’t just present in Aisha’s life; it was woven intricately  into her family’s  dynamics with her parents documenting every of her and her siblings’ milestones in photos. That early exposure shaped her deep appreciation for the kind of imagery that she says feels honest and full of life. “There’s just something very natural about how photos were taken in the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s,” she explains over a call on a windy Sunday afternoon. “The focus was really on the subject and getting everything right in-camera, because there wasn’t a lot of editing going on. You had to capture the moment as it was. I love the quality of those images, they had so much soul. That’s something I try to put into my own work too.”

Creativity is a constant in Aisha Ife’s life, even outside of photography. “My dad was very creative, so I had total freedom to express myself, I was never stopped from doing the things I loved. I liked to draw, I was always using my hands, always making something — I’ve knitted, I’ve sewn clothes. It was just always there.” This  hands-on creativity and skillful precision would later shape her artistic process. And when she made the bold decision to leave engineering behind to pursue photography full-time, her family stood behind her. “I got a lot of support from home,” she says simply. And that support, combined with the creative roots planted early on, continues to inform the soulful, joy-centered work she makes today.

In this conversation with the Culture Custodian, Aisha Ife shares more about her artistic beginnings, her approach to capturing joy, and how photography helps her make sense of the world around her — one image at a time.

How did working in engineering and architecture impact your photography?

I always joke to myself that what I’m using my civil engineering degree for is balancing products and arranging products in a way that defies gravity. Maybe being an engineer informs that in a way, but I know that one way my engineering training has informed my work is the way I approach learning and solving problems. I’m very nerdy about learning and I like to read a lot about the equipment I use, the way light works etc. I think the way you can make things work for yourself, generally is when you know why and how things are the way they are, and you’re able to then make them work the way you want them to work. As opposed to just half-assing it. That’s one way that being classically trained in engineering has impacted my work. I have a methodological approach to learning and to my processes. Sometimes there’s a lot of spontaneous inspiration, but at the foundation of the work (like how I approach lighting for example), I think about it before I get to the shoot. 

I worked at an architecture firm because I was considering switching to architecture, but to do that I would have had to go back to school to study architecture from the beginning and while I like the subject, I don’t like it that much. Working in an architecture firm gave me another insight to how an architect sees a structure. With engineering, I’m not really seeing the beauty of the structure —  although I would naturally see it because I’m an artist at heart — engineering doesn’t really teach you to see that beauty. You’re looking at how the structure is supported, the skeleton of the structure, the functionality. 

What does joy look like in your everyday creative process? Why is it important to centre joy and why was it the North Star of your International Women’s Day campaign for 2024? 

I’ve realized that I can’t do the “tortured artist” thing. I’m not one of those people that are influenced by sadness or the depths of despair. Anger can inspire my work when I think about the world and how it treats women, but not sadness. I know that I create my best work and I’m my best self when I feel joyful. The creative juices just flow and I just feel lighter. This is why it’s so important that I showcase that in my art. I want to be a joyful person. My purpose in life is to be happy, which means that my work, hobbies and the things I let into my life have to fulfil that purpose. It’s not like I’m living my life chasing joy, but because I know I want to be happy, it’s my north star. 

Portrait photo of a mother and daughter taken by Aisha Ife

For the IWD project, I hate how when women speak on IWD it’s always about strength and perseverance. I wish we didn’t have to be strong, and I wish the world was a place where women didn’t need to be strong in that way. Strength is borne out of adversity and I just think it’s nonsense, in my opinion. I’ve always hated that. It’s International Women’s Day, not International Strong Women’s Day. Corporations also only celebrate the high-flyers and while they should be celebrated, it shouldn’t be the norm. What about average everyday women who are high-flyers in their own right? 

And when strong women are celebrated, it’s never in a way where they want to make their lives easier. It’s just being said for saying sake. They don’t really care. As a female artist, it’s important for me to speak about the things I care about in my work. I care about joy and about just being human. I just wanted a situation where women were feeling joyful, and I wanted my subjects to feel good about themselves; they danced, they laughed, and I’m really glad I got people to do that. 

Do you generally communicate that your clients should come in what makes them feel good?

They usually just wear what they have. Some ask for my opinion on what to wear, but most times people already know what they want to wear. I just ask them beforehand, and arrange the set accordingly. Even when I’m selecting their poses, I have to consider what they are wearing.

Digital Artist Morenike Olusanya, as photographed by Aisha Ife

When subjects are uncomfortable during their shoots, I can always tell. Maybe I should create an outfit guide and enforce it because when people are uncomfortable, it’s really obvious. I always tell my subjects to try not to be self conscious. 

People are hyper aware of their flaws today. There are a lot of discussions about body dysmorphia etc. Have you ever had to work with someone who had some sort of esteem issue or struggled with self hate. If so, how did you manage it?

Yes, I have, a couple of times. I try not to point it out when I notice it. One way I make people comfortable is by playing music that they like. It makes them comfortable and then they relax and they talk to me. Random things that make them open up, and lose their self consciousness. Sometimes, before the shoot they point out the flaws they believe they have (teeth, for instance) and I just try my best to let them know we’re on the same team, and I have their backs. If a picture looks off, I’ll let them look at it and we move through it together. That doesn’t always work, and when it doesn’t I try to choose poses  that shift the focus of the image away from whatever body part they’re self conscious about. My approach is just to try and distract them from self consciousness and just being kind in the way I speak to my subjects, because honestly I get it. As someone who used to have really bad acne, it colored how I presented myself to the world and I didn’t like being photographed. I only let a few of my photographer friends take my pictures because I know photographers can be very mean when it comes to acne — I’ve heard some of them talk about it on Twitter very carelessly. 

In your skin series you explored the vulnerability of living with acne. Most of the subjects said they hated getting unsolicited advice from people on how to treat acne. Alongside the general notion that people with acne are dirty, how are you able to balance empathy and honesty without focusing on the downsides of living with acne in Nigeria? You were able to steep it with some sort of joy, and the photos weren’t dehumanizing. How were you able to achieve this?

Again, the cornerstone of my work is joy. People have acne and are still beautiful. It’s not the way people make it seem. People will look at you and ruin your day by making unsolicited, disgusted comments about your skin. It makes you feel less human. I don’t think I need to over-emphasize people’s flaws to make them seem more “human”. I was able to get them to trust me, and I was able to photograph them in a beautiful way. I shot this a long time ago, but I don’t think I played music. Maybe I was able to connect with them on a deeper level because like them, I also dealt with acne. 

Other than joy, you’re also big on beauty. How do you balance joy and beauty with your client briefs or commercial briefs? 

People come to me because I have a good eye, and my work has a certain style so if someone is coming to me for photographs, they know it’s that style they’re getting. As much as possible, I avoid working with people who want something that is opposite from what I’m trying to do and what I like to do. I turn down jobs like that, quite frankly. I also look at people’s products before I decide whether to work with them. I’m able to balance colors and everything beautifully because I also dabbled as a designer at some point. I just have an affinity for anything art related, so that is translated into my work. I like working with colors. It’s another extension of me. I just generally avoid working with things that don’t inspire me, because no matter how hard I try, my mind refuses to shoot those kinds of things. There’s a way I want my work to look like. Over the years, I’ve fed my mind with that kind of work. Most of the product  images that I admire are created outside Nigeria, because Nigeria is very young where such images are concerned. So, the inspiration isn’t in my immediate environment. I create the kind of work I want to see.

When did you realize you wanted joy to be central to your work?

I think 2022/2023. I looked at the projects I lean towards, and they’re all things like that. I’m always either telling my story or the story of people around me and it always has to do with beauty and joy. December 2023 to be precise. That was when I started working on joy.

Your work is quite broad – human subjects, pre-wedding photos, portraits, headshots etc. as well as pictures of products. What do you think is central to these aspects of photography for you?

Honestly I don’t know. Maybe just wanting to make beautiful things. 

What has been your greatest creative challenge and how did you overcome it?

Sometimes, difficult clients. I’m coming from a classically trained background so it’s always very jarring. I don’t like it when people don’t communicate or don’t consider that they’re wasting my time. There’s also the financial aspect, where the economy is getting worse, but there’s a limit to how much I can charge people and still remain commercially viable. Working as a photographer, you’re an entrepreneur but you’re also dealing with the creative side of things and the people side of things, and it’s really stressful. 

How do you stay creatively fulfilled when taking on commercial or client briefs? 

Honestly, by working on things that inspire me. It’s an avenue to try new things. Not just working for work sake, because that’s how you kill your spirit. For portraits, because I do a particular kind of work, the people that come to me will not ask me to do things like reduce their belly or edit something strange. Even at that, it’s not every time I get to do what I like on a shoot, and to remedy this, I;ve been trying to do more personal shoots, not for money-making sake. I just choose something or someone for myself every month and shoot them. That’s something I’ve been doing this year and I’ve actually been able to do it every month. Having something I do for myself helps. Although recently, I’ve been feeling very burnt out because I’ve not been able to work on any of my personal projects, but I think that making time to do small things is helping me find my way back to myself. 

Balancing all the things you do, considering the economy can be a lot. What keeps you grounded when you have your burnout moments?

Although I try to rest as much as possible, I’m very tired at the moment and it’s something that just refuses to go. What I think I need is more time. What I’ve been able to do is take more time out for myself. This year, I’m trying not to work on weekends. I’m editing right now because I’m bored, but reclaiming my weekends has been very good for me. I also read a lot, so that’s one way that I relax. I try to take breaks as well — everyone that knows me knows that you can never catch me working in December. I’m trying to take a break mid-way through the year as well. Looking at other people’s work and going to galleries or the beach fuels me as well. 

What do you hope people feel when they see your work?

I hope I inspire peace and a feeling of returning to one’s self. I want people to look at their portraits and love what they see. Euphoria, that’s the word I want to inspire. 

What can we look forward to getting from you in the coming years?

Work that speaks truth to who I am, to the things I care about. I would like to broaden what I did on”Gele”. I would like to flesh it out properly. The same with “Skin” – I want to highlight more than acne, I think people are very mean to anyone perceived to be different in Nigeria and I want to explore these differences.