Lily Ray Photography

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Sverige
Gothenburg
Lily Ray Photography

Vägbeskrivning Webbplats Kontakta affären

Australian born photographer and journalist living in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Portrait, event, birth photographer with a passion for documentary and narrative photography.

28/10/2026

Like father like son
Post-braid hair
Where does one end
and the other begin?
Fire and breeze
Alike and not
Two sides of the same curly coin

Ilford hp5: this roll was a birthday gift from Angela

Sign up to my substack if you’d like to see the whole roll next week. Link in bio

22/10/2026

I’ve discovered through conversations with friends and other artists that I’m not a perfectionist. I’m happy to get things done quickly and dirtily in order to get them into the world. Sometimes I go back and improve on them, but sometimes I don’t.

I’ve been making zine-like photobooks lately which have been so rewarding to hold in my hands, sell, and give to friends.

I have started showing other people how I make them. There seems to be interest in it. I use Canva and Acrobat Reader and print on a regular office laser printer. It’s very simple and easy. If you would like some help or just to chat about making little books, please get in touch.

Some warn not to let perfect be the enemy of good. I believe we should go further than that. Don’t let good be the enemy of done.

Make it exist.

17/10/2026

I’ve made a video to shop how I use test strips in the darkroom. This is Friday’s work. I’m proud of it and thrilled with it.

I love sharing the joy of the darkroom and though I have no idea if anyone can be bothered watching three minutes of video, I hope it finds its way to those who find it helpful.

10/06/2026

So excited that I’ll be doing a six month artist in residency certificate at TAFE starting next month! In celebration, here are some frames from my latest whole roll!

1 +2: myna birds at
3: gingerbread chai at
4: my lovely cousin Sophia at
5: beautiful bougainvillea in the .newcastle car park
6: the car park at
7 + 8: a picnic with Casey and Will at
9: Leeanne and Latte
10 + 11: the first ripe orange of the year from the orange tree planted on top of my placenta all those years ago
12: post-dumplings at the
13 + 14: my grandma in her nursing home
15: a friend’s neighbour’s dog
16: Elsie sipping juice at the
17: Leeanne and her friend who made the bouquet for her wedding ft. the bouquet
18: Oliver and ch*****ne the night before Leeanne’s wedding
19+20: the funny car on my friend’s street in Sydney and a closeup of a window sticker

Link to the rest of the roll in bio.

📸 Nikon FM + Nikkor 50mm f1.8
🎞️ Kodak Colorplus

Developed by and scanned using .co

06/06/2026

Birth on film, part one: colour.

Documenting the birth of Angela and Dan’s twin boys a few weeks ago was one of the highlights of my photographic career. Their generosity, vulnerability and openness helped me create these treasured film images which I am honestly so proud of.

In a room with challenging light conditions and so many staff to stay out of the way of, I was surprised that my manual film camera was so much better matched to the circumstances compared with my mirrorless.

The mirrorless struggled to meter and focus under the bright LED medical lamp which the main source of light. I was worried the low ISO colour filmstocks I had with me might not cope with the low light, but I’m so pleased with the results.

Birth is everything a documentary, journalistic photographer could wish for. Action, emotion, tension and tenderness. And no lack of story to tell. I dearly hope I’m given the opportunity to photograph more births on film. Thank you so, so much to and for inviting me into this most moving part of your family’s story.

📸 Nikon FM
🎞️ Fujifilm colour 200 + Kodak Ultramax 400

Scanned on my new .co setup.

29/05/2026

I’ve been getting more and more experimental with my analog photographic practice, being constantly inspired and encouraged by the beautiful women in both Memory Cult, a women’s photographic membership community run by , and FilmBlood, a women’s analog photography retreat in Victoria, Australia run by . These groups have pushed me (very willingly) to new places in my artmaking.

Incidentally, some new places will open up in on the first of June in one of two yearly intakes. I recommend that any female photographer looking to expand her world take a look.

This roll is a little vulnerable. Not only was I using the Canon A-1 (light leaks galore) with a crazy telefoto lens given to me by a school mum, but also the intersection of art and my relationship with my husband.

Another vulnerable little truth I see in this roll is my own baby step into another world of art photography. I have no idea where my work is headed, only that I am excited to see what opens up to me.

You can see the rest of the roll on substack at the link in my bio.

26/05/2026

We had a crazy day at Luna Park in Sydney last month. I had a crazy roll of film and I thought they’d be a perfect match. I was right.

📍
🛏️
📸 Nikon FM + Nikkor 50mm f1.8
🎞️ Ilford Ilfocolor Vintage Tone

Thanks to .point.blank for SLR scanning these before I got my setup set up.

Did you know that if you screenshot a caption with a link and then, in the resulting image, you tap the little symbol of three lines within brackets, you make the link clickable? The more you know.

https://open.substack.com/pub/lilyray/p/the-whole-roll-31?r=2xsi77&utm_medium=ios

Latest whole roll, link also in bio.

13/05/2026

This camera has light leaks. I might try to fix it. But I also enjoy the chemical imperfections of film.

These photos were taken on a childless weekend in Barrington on my family property.

So grateful to my beautiful husband for his willingness to play with photography with me.

I took these on a Nikon FM as well as a Canon A-1. Scanned using .co DSLR film holder and advanced set up. Converted with

Film stock is Kentmere 400 and 100.

08/05/2026

I thought about marketing photography packages for Mother’s Day but I just didn’t. This year has been an exhale, as we’ve been living with my parents in Australia in my childhood home, big and comfortable and full of life.

Our costs have been low and I didn’t quite realise until we’d settled in that my nervous system was exhausted from hustling these last several years.

I’ve been freelancing for years now and absolutely loving most of it, but raising a family, servicing a mortgage, keeping up with a life that spans continents all off the back of my creativity has been a lot.

So I’m incredibly grateful for the beautiful clients who have found me despite my atrocious lack of promotion.

It’s almost funny that the consistent paid work I have in Australia at the moment is social media marketing for someone else’s small business. Somehow that’s completely different.

I’m thrilled to be diving so deeply into analog photography and learning more and more. Next year I will be offering film weddings in Sweden with my husband Felix as digital backup and videographer.

I’ll also be offering all my other work on film. I’ve become so besotted with it and it feels good in my body to be rejecting what it is I hate about the industry.

I’ve always had rebel bones. The closer I get to whatever I’m becoming, the more I resist what I cannot accept.

The people who want that are the ones who will find me. And when we meet, it is all worth what I risk when I’m vulnerable in spaces meant for confidence and shiny highlights. I’m just a tired woman with a camera who won’t do what I’m told. Still, I keep realising with relief that I have hope.

Thank you to everyone who helps me keep hold of it.

Whole Roll #28 is at link in bio 🎞️

First image taken for for last month’s project, Dark Matter nighttime photography.

This song is a favourite at the moment.

04/05/2026

Newcastle maternity photos alert

I’ve been so engrossed in my art lately that I’ve been neglecting to show off my beautiful clients. Having a business account and a personal account is a conundrum for an ADHD photographer sole trader like myself.

My art is my life is my business is my photography and my clients are my friends are my muses are my art.

But it doesn’t matter. Here they are. and expecting their first sweet little baby child. And lucky we didn’t let the pouring rain put us off, because their little chicken decided he couldn’t wait any longer and made an appearance the very next day. That’s my record for getting photos done just in time and we don’t need to beat it.

We were being swarmed by mozzies and doggy wasn’t thrilled by the change of routine but the rain had stopped by the time we braved the bush, and we are all pleased we made the effort.

Thank you Brad and Jade for showing me your little part of the world. 📸

(P.s. book me for your maternity/wedding/birth/birthday/bo***ir/engagement/monday morning/moving house/visiting Grandma in the nursing home photos. I’m only here until December. Don’t make me buy ads on Meta please, I’m not built for it. Dm to inquire, you won’t be disappointed.)

Adress

Nilssonsberg 9
Gothenburg
41143

Webbplats

http://lilyrayphotography.com/

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