Photographing Hannah
A studio portrait session with actress Hannah C. in Paris. Through a calm, guided process, the session moved from direction to freedom, allowing confidence and presence to unfold naturally in front of the camera.
I met Hannah through a theatre class. She is a young actress, and over time the group formed a close, attentive working environment — one built on shared focus, generosity, and laughter. Photographing her grew naturally from that context of trust and presence.
Hannah Castel-Chiche — studio portrait, Paris
Studio portrait photography was unfamiliar territory for her. That’s often the case, even for performers who are used to being on stage or on set. A portrait session asks for something different — less performance, more presence — and it takes a little time to settle into that.
At the beginning, I guided her closely: where to stand, how to place her body, how to relate to the light. Slowly, the atmosphere shifted. What started as direction became movement, and movement became play. At some point, she simply began to take the space in front of the camera on her own.
Profile studio portrait of actress Hannah Castel-Chiche, Paris
I photograph with the images visible as we go. It keeps the process open and shared. When Hannah caught sight of the screen and asked, taken aback, “Is that really me?”, the tone of the session changed again — lighter, more confident. From there, everything flowed more easily.
Of course, she is easy to photograph in a technical sense. But what mattered more was her openness once the pressure lifted — the moment when posing stopped and something more natural took its place.
These are the sessions I enjoy most: guided at first, then gently letting go. Calm, attentive, and, when it happens, quietly joyful. The studio is simply the space that allows that to unfold.