Leading character abroad captured by female photographer (5)
I believe the answer is:
aleph
'leading character abroad' is the definition.
(first letter of the Hebrew alphabet)
'captured by female photographer' is the wordplay.
'captured by' says the answer is hidden in the clue.
'ALEPH' can be found hidden inside 'female photographer'.
(Other definitions for aleph that I've seen before include "letter in Middle East" , "Hebrew character" , "Sign of a beast? A Phoenician" , "First letter of the Hebrew alphabet" , "First character" .)