There is a widely held belief that a photograph should capture a person’s deepest essence, as if it should somehow peer into the soul. Personally, I do not subscribe to this notion. Your essence, your soul, your innermost self—it is yours to hold, not mine to uncover. My goal is not to dig into places that belong to you alone.
Instead, I focus on something that feels much more meaningful, at least to me. I want to capture how you wish to be seen. It is not about reducing you to a single moment of vulnerability or attempting to encapsulate your complexity in one image. Rather, it is about honoring how you want to express yourself—to yourself, to others, and perhaps even in ways you have not fully explored yet.
In my photography, I strive to create a space where you feel safe to decide how you want to be presented. This is your story, after all, and my job is to help you tell it in a way that feels authentic to you. What do you want the world to see? More importantly, what do you want to see in yourself? These are the questions that guide our sessions together.
For women in their 40s and 50s, this process can be especially powerful. Often, society tries to tell us who we should be, how we should age, how we should look. In front of the camera, all of that noise fades away, giving you the space to write a new narrative for yourself. It’s not about fitting into someone else’s idea of beauty or significance; it’s about showing the version of you that feels most resonant at this stage of your life.
And here is the thing: you do not need to take yourself too seriously. Embrace your quirks, your body, your wonderful antics and distance yourself from the image that was imposed on you—by upbringing, culture, life experiences, or unrealistic expectations. Through the lens, you can begin to see yourself in a way that is truly yours, not shaped by the external pressures you have lived with.
As a photographer, I am here to help you explore that expression—whether it is subtle, bold, joyful, or quiet. Like Oscar Wilde said, each of us contains multitudes, and there is no single “right” way to present yourself to the world. The magic happens when you feel empowered to step into the version of you that you want to see reflected back. A portrait is not about capturing some elusive essence or digging for deeper meaning. It is about celebrating how you choose to express yourself. And that, I believe, is something truly beautiful.