The water was still that afternoon, the light warm and gentle. She rested on the log, her posture open and at ease. There was no rush, no pressure to prove anything. Just the moment, the surroundings, and the trust we had built before the camera even came out.

A session like that doesn't happen by accident. It begins much earlier, in the conversations that lead up to it. What do you want to show? What feels right, and what doesn't? Which environment suits you? These questions aren't meant to tick boxes, but to understand how you feel most comfortable. Because if you don't feel at ease, it shows in the images. And that's not what I'm looking for.

I prefer working with people who are curious, who are open to a process without a fixed script. That doesn't mean you need experience, or that you have to know exactly how to move or where to look. It means you're willing to pause, to feel how the light falls, how the place feels, and to discover together what works. Sometimes the most compelling images are those moments when you forget there's a camera at all.

What matters to me is that we both understand why we're doing this. Not from a vague hope for 'nice pictures', but from a shared intention. Maybe you want to capture something about how you feel at this point in your life. Maybe you're curious about a side of yourself you haven't shown often. Or maybe you simply enjoy stepping out of your daily routine to create something that goes beyond a selfie. Whatever it is, it helps if you can name it.

Open communication is essential. I don't expect you to know everything in advance, but I do expect you to speak up when something doesn't feel right. If a location is too cold, if a pose feels awkward, if you need a break. Those aren't obstacles, they're signals that make the session better. I, in turn, share what I see, what's working, and where I'm heading. That way it remains a conversation, not an instruction.

Mutual respect means, to me, that we both understand this is a collaboration. You bring yourself, your time, your trust. I bring my vision, my experience, my care for the final result. Neither is worth more than the other. Together we create something that wouldn't exist without that combination. That requires patience, space, and the ability to laugh when something doesn't work out right away.

I often recognize a good match in the first contact. Not because someone says the 'right' things, but because there's a natural alignment. You sense that we're on the same wavelength, that we both understand what it's about. That can't be forced, and it doesn't need to be. Some collaborations simply fit, others don't. And that's okay.

What I'm not looking for is someone who adapts to what she thinks I want to see. I'm not looking for perfection, no pose learned from Instagram, no version of yourself you think is 'good enough'. I'm looking for the moments when you forget you're posing. When you respond to the wind, to the light, to a thought passing by. Those moments are real, and those are interesting.

That afternoon by the water was one of those moments. No forced tension, no manufactured presence. Just someone who felt comfortable in her own skin, in that environment, in that moment. That's what I try to capture. Not an ideal image, but a recognizable feeling. Something you can look back on later and think: yes, that's how it felt.

If this way of working appeals to you and you're curious how such a collaboration would feel for you, I invite you to get in touch.