This 13-year-old dancer just so happens to live in the same region as photographer Rachel Jordan of Two Little Starfish in Kerikeri, New Zealand. When the young ballet enthusiast connected with Jordan to create some new portraits, this vision immediately came to the photographer’s mind. “I love painterly-feeling portraits and wanted an image that would be timeless,” Jordan says.

The shoot took place in the photographer’s own studio, where she used a softbox and a simple grey backdrop to set the scene. Jordan did some minor directing for the young subject, but she mostly let her act natural and be in the moment. “My favorite thing about this image is that she feels like she’s in her element,” Jordan says. “I hope this image will always bring this girl back to the time of her life where ballet was everything to her.”

(Captured using a Canon 5D Mark III witha 24-70mm f/2.8L II lens.)

Photo © Rachel Jordan of Two Little Starfish

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