Meet ibti | Photographer & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with ibti and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi ibti, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Well let’s say art chose me at birth, hahah It was meant to be. I’ve been creative all my life, when i was a kid, i would spend my entire time drawing, painting on whatever i could find. I’ve always been fascinated by all kinds of arts, music, cinema, photography, paintings, fashion, architecture, dance but also astronomy and underwater world etc…
The more i grew, the more i felt this need to feed myself with more artistic discoveries.
At first, i saw it more as a hobby, a passion, even though people and family friends kept telling my mother « she will be an artist, she has this in her »… i never took them seriously, i wanted to be an oceanographer.
But science classes were not for me, i’d rather daydream and draw imaginary worlds than calculate hahah.
I realized at some point that art was not only just a passion, it was what literally kept me alive. I know it might sound cheesy, but without all the art that surrounds us, i know i would be unhappy and of course wouldn’t be able to create.
Photography was clearly a revelation when i got my first camera thanks to a great friend from Chicago who was the first to tell me « ibti go for it ! ». This is when the journey began.
I kept pushing my limits, creating worlds, adding some David Lynch moods, with a hint of Salvador Dali surrealism in a Blade Runner world, playing with lights, adding some 80s aesthetic sceneries and extravagant styling and make up on models, being able to tell stories through photography… this freedom is priceless.
I finally found a way to combine all my passions and inspirations together, so obviously it was an artistic career or nothing !
And YES, a lot of things happen in my head, we are quite a team up there and definitely live in another dimension i know hahaha
But here i am now, Photographer/Creative Director, beyond grateful to call it a career and extremely thankful for the amazing support.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art is a mix of many things but when i started photography it didn’t look like that at all. It took me approximately more than a year to find my style. I started taking pictures while road tripping through california, nevada and arizona. Then I really found my style when i was living in Canada, while walking alone in the streets during blue hour and at night.
It quickly reminded me those moody horror movies that i love so much, and i told myself « hey why don’t you mix up cinema and photography, tell stories, create moods, make people escape in worlds through photography » It became all clear.

At first i didn’t want to photograph people, i was more comfortable with taking picture of creepy empty motels haha, but during quarantine (i was back in france at that time), while being locked at home for months i had no choice but to dig more into my artistic resources and try new things. This is when i started putting myself in front of the camera.
It was hard at first, i came back from Canada, then covid arrived, so i couldn’t even really start a career in a normal way. So i just continued making self-portraits, creating worlds, doing all the scenography, lightning, costumes by mixing everything that i love and that inspires me such as interior design, cinematography, fashion, surrealistic art, music, cyberpunk, 80s90s aesthetics… and kept sharing on social media.
I had moments when i lost faith in my work and had a lack of self confidence, moments of procrastination and asked myself « is it worth it ? ».
I started meditation for the first time in my life, and it actually helped me a lot in different ways and most importantly for my self confidence. I made a huge work on myself, digging deep inside my past to overcome the present fears, face them, learn from them in order to become a better version of myself.
Waking up early every morning, starting the day in a healthy way, being back on track even though the world stopped, this is how i managed to get back to work. I learned to trust myself more.I didn’t give up. It was hard, but worth it.
After all this, i stepped out of my comfort zone and began taking shots of people, and i’m glad i did ! Every model that i photograph inspire me in such unique ways, and i love sharing creative projects with them !

This was clearly the key: pushing my limits, and i am proud i did !

There were times when i wanted to give up, especially because i wasn’t always taken seriously when i said “i’m a photographer”, i was even being laughed at !

I quit my former job in fashion, closed my jewelry brand, started all over again, gave up everything to devote myself exclusively to photography, so it was hard to hear this from people.

But with time I learned to not pay attention to it and stand up for myself.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
i’m french, so i might sound cliché i’m warning you ! hahah

I’m between Paris and LA… so the adventure will actually begin in Paris with a nice dinner on a terrasse in Le Marais district.
Slumber party at my place then in the morning, drive to the airport and fly together straight to LA !
There are so many amazing spots, it’s hard to choose BUT first things first, on the day we arrive, we would go for dinner at Il Pastaio (best mushroom risotto).
Then drive to my favorite place on earth, mulholland drive to see the skyline. There’s something magical about this view.

We would go shopping on melrose, venice, rodeo drive, then have dinner at TAO.

Drive to malibu through the hills and have some shrimp tacos at neptune’s net during sunset.

We would go on a hike in hollywood hills and some other day walk from venice to santa monica and watch the sunset while eating donuts (yes true passion for donuts) then go have some drinks at mama shelter.

Then we will go on a road trip through the desert… but this is another story haha 😉

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The first shoutout is to my mother, who always supported me since day one especially when i told her i wanted to enter art school and pursue an artistic career. She always encouraged me in my crazy artistic adventures. Shoutout also to my Grand-mother who kept telling me « Go to Los Angeles and live your dream ». Mami, Maman, this is for you.

A special shoutout to my friend Michael from Chicago, who offered me my first camera and taught me technical basics while visiting Paris years ago and who always had the kindest most supportive words which helped me continue photography and not lose faith in my work.

And of course shoutout to my friends and work team, who always support me on a daily basis. I am extremely happy and lucky to have them all in my life. They believe in me, and for that i am eternally grateful.
I am also grateful for the support i have on social media, the sweet messages i get each day, the new friendships i’ve made across the world with incredible people and artists who encourage me even though we’ve never seen each other in real life. This is very powerful and i am truly touched by these relationships we’ve created through shared art.

Honestly i wouldn’t be where i am now without all of them. They all have/had an impact on my life and career one way or the other without exception, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Instagram: @_ibti.lea_

Other: i have another IG account where i am specialized in design, architecture and real estate. @ibti.e_photography