He wasn’t dancing at the time this image was shot. I don’t know what exactly he was doing, but it was the end of the session and he was definitely over me photographing and getting restless. So he was wiggling around a bunch and trying to keep things interesting for himself I imagine. I was in that wonderful relaxed state of knowing I’d gotten what we needed, although alert and curious as to what he might still present to me. I love the feel of these moments so much, and wish I was better able to enter into a session with the same mindset that I typically end with. Wide-eyed open curiosity without attachment or expectation is the stuff of childhood, and it’s magic.

Perhaps it’s not realistic to think that one can maintain such an alluring state of mind when doing “your job”, and truly I’m grateful that I get to know it at all. The serious intensity I experience when beginning a shoot is surely inherent to wanting to do good work for someone paying me to do so. But even when photographing just for myself I always seem to start with *trying* to create something, and in the trying there’s a sharp edge that must to be softened. I suppose it’s like dancing, where we often begin stiffly, aware of others watching our moves and caring what they think. And then eventually the music lifts and carries us, we allow ourselves to be taken, and it’s beautifully free.

So it was with my imaginary dance partner.



~Cynthia