Kris and James are a beautiful power couple I had over for dinner, and they joined me for another round of my Spotlight project. I realize this is the first time I’m mentioning the project here, so let’s rewind a bit to how it all began.

Back when I still had a Facebook account, I came across a photography page that caught my attention. I can’t remember the name, but it featured curated work from different photographers — probably without their consent — but the selection was very on point. Every single post resonated with me, and I didn’t recognize any of the names, which only made me more curious.

One of the posts credited the work to a single word: cvatik. A quick Facebook search led me to his page. He had these incredibly creative portraits, but very little info about the man himself. These days he’s more visible on Instagram — Steven Gindler: @cvatik — and his creativity has only deepened. Think: burning piano on a lake kind of deep.

Anyway, one of his photos struck a chord with me. It was just a face, lit by flash, set against a pitch-black background. It looked like it was taken with a wide-angle lens, from some distance. In classic portrait terms, it broke all the “rules”: a black background blending with dark hair, no subject separation, a wide lens instead of a long one, distant instead of close. But it worked. It really worked. So much so that I knew I had to try it for myself. And just like that, Spotlight was born. I got myself a black cloth background, crafted a snoot to narrow the flash output, and started experimenting on myself. I decided I’d try to capture all my friends this way, and bit by bit, either when they needed head-shots or just by inviting them over to hang out. Eat, drink, take a few photos. It’s turned into a really fun way to spend time with people, and the project has grown slowly but steadily. As friends come and go, Spotlight keeps growing.

Now back to Kris and James.

They’re total opposites in front of the camera. James is a natural. Comfortable, confident, instantly falling into great poses. We flew through the session, quickly building up a stack of strong shots. Kris, on the other hand, was a different ballgame. Her Eastern European confidence seemed to vanish in front of the lens. It took a little while to warm up. Throughout the whole shoot there was a nice tease between the two, a playful back and forth that became a key part of the shoot and really enhanced some of the images. There are some beautiful shared looks and genuine laughs that came out of it.

At some point James made a gesture and I noticed it was creating some nice compositions, so we started to experiment with a few variations. On the chosen photo, just before I clicked the shutter, Kris said something that caught his attention, and it added that special gaze — for me, that’s what made the photo. It sealed the deal in choosing James’s picture.

Noticing Kris’s discomfort, James kept making her laugh as we shot, and that eased things a lot. I can see that around the end of the first third of selected shots, her skeptical petrified look is gone and we start to get some genuine laughs and relaxed eyes. We also experimented with props — a trick that had worked well with Claire (she held a monstera she’d just picked up). For this occasion, Kris held out her wine, taking occasional sips. Claire, funnily enough, is the one who introduced me to Kris.

In the end, I chose a dynamic portrait of Kris that leans into her shyness — she’s hiding most of her face, but her incredible curls take center stage. That felt like a personal detail too. We’ve shared a few chats about hair care, trading favorite products and tips, so the choice felt right on a few different levels.

Although this is not the first session published on my website, this was where it all began. My very first Dialogue.

I met Ana through mutual friends in Porto. Our interactions were usually brief, but there was something about her that sparked my curiosity. During one of our online conversations, she mentioned her interest in self-portraiture. That simple exchange planted a seed in my mind. While I already had a wish to do creative portraits, it wasn't until this 'window' presented itself that I opened it and hopped in!

Neither of us had done something link this before, so the session started slow and mild, despite that, the first photo of the session was a keeper right away. The steps were slow and misguided, we felt our way around the shoot, me as a director and photographer, Ana as a model and stylist. Slowly but steadily we found our ways and the curiosity that had sparked, gave rise to a simple yet beautiful set that we were both very happy with!

This edition of Dialogues took place with Ana at her home in Porto.

This project stems from my desire to dive into the world of artistic portraiture. It’s a personal journey inspired by my fascination with this genre, which I admire immensely but have never fully explored.

Over the years, I’ve gathered a variety of examples—from the wildly creative to the beautifully simple; And while I continue to draw inspiration from incredible work out there, I felt it was time to start creating my own.

I decided to collaborate with creative individuals who also have their own visions. This paired approach fosters playful sessions where our influences spark experimentation and bring our ideas to life, resulting in work that is more than the sum of its parts.

I look forward to editing the dialogues that have already taken place, and to creating new ones!

Stay tuned for more!
✌

Precious cargo