For London based photographer Francesca Allen, one glaring constant exists throughout her work; intimacy. Having emerged from a photography degree, leaving Allen somewhat dismayed with the process, she quickly found her feet in an industry which welcomed her personal and soft style of shooting. Focussing primarily on female closeness, her empathetic portraits display a candid look into the lives and emotions of her subjects.

Working with publications like Vogue, Dazed and Confused and i-D to name a few, her most poignant work is arguably found across two monographs. The first of which was published by Libraryman about musician Aya Yanase, whom she photographed over a period of a month in Japan. The second more recent and self-published project ‘I’d like to get to know you’ is an explorative project about Allen’s relationship to her sister Alida. Self-described as having previously been a distant relationship, this series of photographs documents not only Alida in various states, but shows the developing connection between the sisters.

We caught up with Francesca to chat about how she maintains her love for the work, her processes and what relationship she shares with the cameras she uses.

Shot on Kodak 16mm 250D / Portraits on Kodak Portra 35mm with cine developing and transfer by Cinelab in London and stills developed with Traia Lab, also in London. 

A still from Francesca's book about her sister Alida, 'I'd like to get to know you'


Francesca with darkroom printing notes and test prints from her archive 

Francesca in London nearby her studio, shot on a Leica R8 / Leitz 50mm f2 Summicron


From Francesca's book 'Aya' published by Libraryman books. 






Francesca with her Contax G2 / Carl Zeiss Planar 35mm / f2



To see more of Francesca's work, please head over to her website by clicking here.