I had chatted with Maia here and there online, after she found me thru some friends and found her so delightful and lighthearted. When she finally booked a shoot with me, we felt like old friends.
Then the day of her shoot came up and as she walked thru my studio here in Vancouver, I could tell her energy was low. As my Hair and Makeup Artist Stephanie was setting up, Maia and I went into my studio and looked thru the dresses we wanted to use. We talked about how she’d been so excited for this shoot for weeks and she was bummed she woke up very low energy. I told her we’d take it nice and easy and we’d just let the day unfold before us, without any major expectations.
And then we started shooting. Laughing at how silly she felt, telling her the moment you put a camera on me I forget what to do with my hands, joking around with Stephanie. And before we knew it, the heavy mood lifted and we found joy.
Every time I showed her the back of the camera, Maia marveled at what she saw. It happens all the time. It’s why I DO show the back of my camera. I want you to see how easy it is and how easy it feels to look beautiful in photos. That you are NOT hard to photograph. That there’s no such thing as photogenic. That anyone can look beautiful and like themselves in pictures.
Maia is a therapist and wanted to have nice, simple headshots, some fun images to share on social media and then a few images to show personality and vibes which I think is so important for business owners. Time and time again we’re told that people reach out to businesses they connect with and see the humanity in the faces behind the brand. Branding photography is SO SO important and if you want to learn more, you can click here.
Once we finished shooting for her personal branding side of the shoot, we decided to grab some dresses from my client closet and run and chase waterfalls! We went to Latourell Falls and Maia actually got into that icy cold water!
We ended the session with her submerging fully in the icy cold water and as we were speaking about it later, it felt a bit like a rebirth. She came out of that water, refreshed and glowing with confidence and when she saw her images afterwards told me they would forever remind her of how brave and powerful she is. Because it is scary to be photographed. It’s vulnerable. And having the courage to invest in yourself in that way, to exist in photos, to take the time to become ART, is no small feat.
In fact, it’s the bravest thing in the world. So when you’re ready for your own transformative experience, know that I’ll be there for you every step of the way.
Irina Negrean is a fine art published, award winning photographer based out of Vancouver, WA. Irina Specializes in empowerment, seniors and family and wholeheartedly believes there’s no wrong way to exist in photos and all women deserve to have their lives documented. To book or schedule a shoot, click here to go straight to the booking site.
Wanna know more about what a shoot with me feels like? Click here to get a feel for it!
For more empowerment work click here.
For more personal branding work click here.
To contact me directly visit the contact me page.
Visit my instagram page to see more of my recent posts.
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