Rachel was a professional dancer wanting some new images for her portfolio. Ballet was Rachel’s specialty, but she wanted to do something a bit more stylized and different, which I was happy to oblige.

When it comes to how I light a subject, it usually comes from instinct and experience. This time, with Rachel’s help, I had a head start. Prior to our session, Rachel had worked with a professional colorist who assessed her skin tone and handed her a set of colors built specifically to complement it. Knowing that information ahead of time changed how I approached the whole shoot. I built the lighting and outfits around the warm gold and autumn tones the colorist had recommended, and it was a joy to see everything slide into place during our session. It’s a small detail that made a big difference. When the lighting is working for you in multiple ways, everything else in the image gets enhanced. Everything feels more cohesive.

I floated the idea of improvisation with Rachel, but it wasn’t immediately something she was thrilled with. That’s a completely normal reaction, especially for a dancer trained in something as structured as ballet. Once I walked her through what I was actually going for and why, she was willing to try.

The turning point came when we decided to put on a song that meant something special to her, the one she and her fiancé chose for their first dance at their wedding. After that song started playing, something shifted. She relaxed. She stopped thinking about getting the pose right and just started moving. I encouraged her to bring herself to a place that reminded her of why she enjoyed dance to begin with. The images we created ended up being some of the strongest of the entire session.

Rachel’s session is a good reminder that having elements like lighting and color worked out ahead of time can be a real confidence booster. When you feel comfortable, it shows in your images. When it comes to improvisation, going outside your comfort zone can yield images that feel more like yourself than you thought possible.