Selina Ott in the Studio

After years of elegant dress portraits, it was simply time for a change of pace. Away from the soft beauty light that flatters any soloist — straight into the hard spot that shows character instead of hiding it.

Selina Ott dressed in black standing in a bright light circle spot with long shadow on a dark wall — Hard spot, long shadow — away from the beauty light

Selina and I work together regularly, mostly for her upcoming international performances — new portraits, new programmes, new seasons. Over the years that has turned into a comfortable routine, and routine in portraiture is exactly the thing you have to work on the moment you notice it. For this session I therefore set myself to try something that deliberately breaks with the previous images.

Selina Ott in a black bustier with trumpet, diagonal light beam across the face — Diagonal beam — directed, edgy light shape

Instead of the soft, flattering light usually used to stage soloists, I set up a hard spotlight in the studio — an Aperture continuous light with a gobo attachment that casts directed, edgy light shapes and gives the face an entirely different depth. Not a light that flatters. One that shows character. After all the dress shots, that was exactly what the portfolio had been missing: images that don't only show the elegant soloist, but the performer behind her, who actually has something to say on stage.

Selina Ott in a black bustier dress sitting on a bar stool with trumpet in a white light circle on black background — Black on black, in the light circle — elegance reinterpreted

This only works, however, if the person in front of the camera goes along — and Selina goes along. She has character, she is a performer in the best sense, and hard light is merciless to anyone who hides from it. Selina doesn't hide. She accepted the hardness of the light and translated it into presence, and that is exactly how images came about that look different from everything we had done before.

Selina Ott in a beige knit dress sitting with trumpet against a wooden slat wall, black and white — And in the end, beige again — the reliable constant

There was one thing I did have to respect along the way: Selina has a strong leaning towards beige tones. That has remained a reliable constant over the years — whatever we plan, at some point the wardrobe ends up at beige. In an emergency black still works, and for a session with a hard spotlight black is the more elegant choice anyway. Some compromises aren't really compromises.

Thanks to Selina for still being up for trying something new after years of shared shoots — and for staying just as composed in hard light as in soft. Not many people can do that.

→ All images of this session in the gallery