Beauty. Grace. Delicate power. Change. Transformation.

All these words come to mind when looking through this incredible session with Darla Winn. She has such a deep sense of purpose in the work she creates and infuses such creativity with simplicity into her work. You’ll be blown away when you hear where they made this magical art… the answer might surprise and challenge you.

It’s time to break out of your cocoon and spread those wings to fly! You have what it takes to find new stories to tell, new ways to tell them, and new adventures along the way.

Tell me a little bit about where your inspiration for this session came from?

I had done a butterfly session with another friend of mine, and knew that I wanted to do another with my friend, Carla.  I love the idea of metamorphosis and change and the beauty that all of that involves. I wanted to portray that symbolism, and the darkness and light that comes from the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, death to new life. I think we can use this process as hope when we might be going through a dark or difficult time in our lives.

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How did you decide on your location and what did you do to prepare it for the session?

I used my very own dining room!  I have all white walls and it’s easy to transform into a “studio”.  I felt like since the butterfly is so colorful, I really wanted a neutral area to work in.  I bought an extra white sheet to put on the floor so the entire space was white.

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What is your favorite image from the session and why?

My favorite – ah!  It’s so hard, because they all go together to tell the story, but it’s probably the first one, the black and white with the butterflies in her hair.  It gives me such a sense of strength and confidence and beauty.  I know that’s something I need in my life daily, especially in the times we find ourselves in today.

What did you learn from shooting this session? (anything big or small….ex. how you triggered your camera for self portraits, a new pose you tried and loved, something new you noticed about light, editing tips etc)

I am always breaking all the rules.  I like to do a lot of long exposure and double exposure.  I also used an external flash for this shoot, because I wasn’t getting much light in my windows (it was raining this day).  I am always intimidated when using flash because I’m afraid the images will not come across as warm or inviting, but it worked with this shoot to make it more dramatic and strong, I believe.

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Did you struggle with anything during this session?

I’ve only worked with Carla a few times before, so I always struggle getting into the groove of things and making her feel comfortable and feeling comfortable myself.  It’s always a bit strange (I feel) to ask a model to do something that they might consider “weird.”  But we both worked through those insecurities.  By the end, we are both in rhythm, and most times I will go back to the very first couple of shots and poses and shoot them again now that we are both comfortable.  It’s amazing to see the difference from when you first started to the end of the shoot.

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Where can we find you on social media?

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