Karolina came into the studio in July for a portfolio session and we worked through eight looks in a single morning. Four backdrops, one set built around real candles, and a run of images that covered everything from clean commercial styling to something far more theatrical. She arrived with the whole thing planned out, which is the main reason we got as much done as we did.
I have photographed Karolina many times over the last couple of years, including a maternity session in 2025. That history matters on a day like this. We already know how the other one works, so there is very little warming up to do. We started shooting a few minutes after she arrived and kept moving.
She planned the shoot, I lit it
Every outfit, every prop and every styling decision on this session was Karolina’s. That is how I run all my model portfolio work. The model decides what they wear and how far they want to take a look. My job is to light it properly, direct where direction helps, and keep the session moving so nothing gets wasted.
She also did her own hair and makeup, and reset it herself between looks. People underestimate how much that speeds a shoot up. When the model can change a lip colour or shift a parting in five minutes without waiting on anyone, you get far more sets done in the same window. It also means the looks are exactly what she wanted rather than an approximation of it.
The clearest example of her planning was a set she built herself. On a red backdrop, wearing denim shorts, she wore a corset drawn on paper. Hand-inked circles on white card, cut to shape, with matching paper bangles stacked on one wrist. It should not work. It absolutely does. The paper reads as a real garment at first glance, and then you notice it is a drawing, and the whole image tips into something playful. That was entirely her idea and she made the props before she came.
The candlelit set
The most involved setup of the day was a painterly one. I dressed a table with sequinned champagne fabric and red velvet, ran the drape onto the floor, and grouped a set of real pillar candles on top. A little haze in the air gave the light something to sit in.
Karolina shot two looks against it. The first was a white satin bodysuit with long ropes of pearls, white lace tights, lace gloves and cream heels. The second was a black sheer panelled gown, barefoot, with a much more sculptural feel to the posing. Same set, same candles, completely different mood.
Sets like this take longer to build than they do to shoot, and they only pay off if the model can hold a considered pose without it going stiff. Karolina can. She sits into a shape, holds it, then changes it slightly on a word rather than resetting from scratch. That is a skill, and it is what makes an elaborate set worth the time it costs.
Colour, movement and clean commercial work
The rest of the morning moved fast. A pale blue ruffled off the shoulder top with light wash jeans on a clean white background, shot with a lot of movement and hair. A red and white polka dot halter dress on a red backdrop, with a long scarf caught mid air. A run of images on white where she styled a bandeau top out of neckties, with a tartan scarf pulled across one eye. Then a khaki bodysuit and a black leather biker jacket on grey, which she took through to a more stripped back version of the same look.
Working colour on colour, red on red in particular, is something I enjoy. It flattens out badly if you light it wrong and goes muddy fast. Get the separation right and it becomes graphic in a way you cannot achieve with a neutral background. The polka dot set is my pick from the day for that reason.
The range across the morning is the point. Some of these images are clean and commercial and would sit happily in front of any client. Others are more editorial and more body confident. Karolina set that level herself, look by look, and it gives her a set of images she can use in different places for different purposes rather than one narrow seam of work.
What made it a productive session
Three things, and none of them are about the camera.
She knew what she wanted before she arrived. Not a vague mood, but specific outfits in a specific order with the props already made. That means I can think about light rather than about what we are doing next.
She reset quickly. Own hair, own makeup, outfits on hangers, minimal fuss between sets.
She works with the direction rather than against it. When I ask for a shoulder to drop or a chin to come round, it happens, and then she adds something of her own on top of it. The best frames from any shoot usually come from that second part, not the first.
That combination is why we covered eight looks before eleven o’clock. It was a genuine pleasure to shoot and one of the more productive sessions I have run this year.
What a portfolio actually needs
If you are building a modelling portfolio, the aim is not a large number of photographs. It is coverage.
You need clean images where your face reads clearly, because that is what gets looked at first. You need full length frames that show how you stand and how your lines work. You need a few sets that show you can carry a stronger concept without it looking like fancy dress. You also need enough variation in mood that someone looking through can see you are not stuck in one register.
Eight looks in a morning sounds like a lot, and it is only achievable when the model comes prepared. If you are newer to this, four or five well planned looks will serve you better than eight rushed ones. Bring outfits on hangers, bring options rather than one fixed plan, and think about what each look is for before you pack it.
Details on portfolio sessions, what is included and how to book are on my model portfolio and aspiring models page.
Model safety, and why I keep saying this
I do not touch models. Not to fix a strap, not to move a hand, not for anything. If a pose needs adjusting I describe it, or I show it myself from where I am standing. That is the whole method and it works perfectly well.
I encourage every model to bring a chaperone. A friend, a partner, a parent, whoever they trust. The offer is made before every shoot without exception. Karolina came on her own this time, which was her choice and entirely fine, but the offer was there as it always is.
If a photographer refuses to allow a chaperone, or talks you out of bringing one, walk away. There is no legitimate reason for that position. None. A photographer who is working properly has nothing to hide from a friend sitting in the corner of the room, and most of us find the shoot goes better with someone there.
Your safety is not something you should have to negotiate for. Anyone worth working with will explain how they run a session before you commit to it, will put it in writing if you ask, and will not make you feel awkward for asking in the first place.
Studio portrait photography in Suffolk
My studio is at Base Business Park in Rendlesham, on the old RAF Bentwaters site near Woodbridge. It is a straightforward drive from Ipswich, Framlingham, Saxmundham and most of east Suffolk, with parking outside the door.
I photograph model portfolios, headshots, personal branding and commercial work there, along with location work across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. If you are putting a portfolio together and want to talk through what would be useful for you, get in touch and we can work out a plan before you book anything.
