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Photographer and director, Kristine Danne, has a natural talent for capturing women in strikingly playful ways. In her recent series of female portraits, Kristine worked closely with models, artists, performers, and singers to create images that celebrated their individual characters in a genuine and trusted manner.
Be it strong, sexy, soft or sassy, Kristine seems to create space for women to feel fully comfortable and in control of their self-image. We speak from experience when saying she has the special ability to make a person feel at ease and unjudged, having worked with Kristine on previous Sassy shoots. Recognising how mainstream media is often a regurgitation of imagery captured through the male gaze, it is refreshing to see the work of a female photographer who encourages her subjects to show all sides of their personalities. It was for this reason that we wanted to share Kristine's joy for celebrating the courage these women bring to their photoshoots and the freedom that is felt through being yourself.
"I love to work with females. I find it so interesting how there's always such freedom on set, the clothes are dropped, they don't care! There's always a conversation about body and mind and how we feel as women. And it's interesting to hear the different opinions because when you're photographed, you show your body (even if it's covered in clothing, or you're just wearing a sheet), you are exposing yourself to something more. This is why I think, with women, they feel comfortable around me. It's a beautiful experience and I love it."
Christina
"Christina, I love her look! I really appreciate the female form and what a woman can do with her body. I have always admired plus size models, how they to put themselves out there despite all these standards that are encouraged in pop culture; to have a slim waist, a bum, big boobs and straight hair. You have to have extreme courage and when I worked with Christina, I saw that she is not afraid of anything! You can put her in the tightest tracksuit and she's going to nail it! It's so wonderful to see how a woman loves and appreciates every bit of her body and how she takes care of herself."
Candice
"Candice is a wild thing! I met her in her apartment, she asked me what kind of things I wanted her to wear, so I said: "Let's just start with something simple". She opened her wardrobe and it was just full of the craziest stuff I've ever see. The clothing and accessories in her closet were a real reflection of how she expresses herself - through her style. She had told me a story about how an agency told her that she has to either slim down or gain weight because she's not considered a plus-size model or a "standard" size model, which is complete nonsense because she is perfect as she is. Candice has the prettiest face and I hope she will be a big star one day because her personality is so rich."
Bethany
"Bethany is one of the sunniest people I've met in my life! She's the person of the year for me; the courage she has for speaking up about female bodies so freely and the liberation that you can experience through her, watching her work, spoken word and songs. When I captured her, there are photos of Bethany's face where her eyes are so piercing, not cold but like this ... she charmed me, completely. I loved our photoshoot. I really like women like Bethany who acknowledge and see who they are and aren't afraid to speak up and be themselves."
Marian
"With Marian, it was a little different because we did two photoshoots. The first shoot was with a whole team, it was really nice and all quite staged, you see that there's so much richness in her, she's like a movie star type of woman. Afterwards, I realised that there's so much more to her and I gave her some advice to show more of that side of herself. The second shoot was just us two and a makeup artist. She was wearing an old shirt, the makeup was on and she had her boyfriend's top as a head wrap. It was free-flowing, we didn't pressure her to pose, she was just herself. And there came out this very feminine, empress energy that I loved about her."
You can keep up to date with Kristine's work here and view more of her photographs in The Body Album