It was pouring rain and cold when we finally reached the walk out to the giant Buddhas of Polonnaruwa. When we got there, we started the photo shoot but were quickly stopped. You are not allowed to turn your back to a Buddha statue, so the only photo you can take is with your body facing Buddha. We corrected and started taking photos again, and I was having Mandy, our model, move her arms to make the sari fabric flow in the wind. We were quickly stopped again—no dancing or arm gestures are allowed in front of Buddha. No closed fists, no sudden movements, no laughing, no loud conversations, no singing…the list goes on. I finally asked what we could do in front of Buddha, and the guard moved Mandy’s arms and hands, like he was posing a Barbie doll, to allow her to be in the final pose that you see here, partially turned toward the camera and, of course, Buddha. At first I was frustrated, but then I realized how important this lesson really was: No matter how much we understand or think we know about another’s spiritual or cultural beliefs, it is so important when traveling to respect them and to not assume you know anything. This, out of all of the shoots, was the most restricting, and we only were allowed to take a few shots, but the entire moment of learning what not to do was actually one of the most important moments of all and more powerful than getting the shot.

Adam’s Peak is Sri Lanka’s holiest mountain and each year, tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to climb its 5,500 steps and almost 7,000 feet of elevation. Although this place isn’t as “Insta-famous” as other peaks in Sri Lanka, we felt that spiritually, and as a lesson of ultimate perseverance, we had to do one of our sari shoots at the top after hiking for hours in the dark. We started out at 2:30 a.m. with backpacks filled with water and heavy photo gear, glitter makeup and long sari fabric. There were times I wasn’t sure we would finish, times I had to mentally push myself to finish. It became a sheer test of will long after my muscles gave out to make it to the top, but once we got to the top, we rang the bell and got Bethany ready for our photo shoot by doing her makeup and wrapping her in a sari alongside passed-out pilgrims and monks praying and lighting incense. The morning light beamed through the incense smoke and made this image just magical.

Deep in the middle of Sri Lanka, a massive column of rock juts out from the green tropical forest. It reaches 660 feet tall and features frescoes of beautiful women, graffiti and landscaped gardens. The rock is known as Sigiriya and holds a special place in the island’s cultural history. I wanted Kimberly and her colorful hair and jewel-toned sari to pose for this shoot, because I envisioned the top would be ruins of neutral-colored rock walls. We had no idea how beautiful the gardens and terraced ruins would be. We had perfect 360-degree views of the entire country below, and it was amazing to imagine this as a bustling palace hundreds of years ago, at the top of this rock in the middle of nowhere. At one point only male monks lived there, and now we were having a fashion shoot at the top!

All Ceylon tea leaves are picked by hand by women in Sri Lanka, and over 20 percent of their population is directly or indirectly affected by the tea industry. Brittany Paradise, featured here, is a partner at Ferndell Coffee and Tea, which is based in the U.S. but its tea is produced here in Sri Lanka. It seemed fitting to have her model the sari in the origin of the company’s tea leaves. I love the striking red in contrast to the vibrant green terraced fields, but we had no idea that these fields were covered in leeches. As we were all focused on getting the shot, we were also getting our ankles attacked and covered in leeches. We spent the next half hour taking them off of each other, which is something that I’m sure the tea pluckers deal with every day. It is a sacrifice of literally blood, sweat and tears to produce something that represents relaxation, communal gatherings and new beginnings, and it’s integral to so many people’s lives. Brittany wanted to convey, through this shoot, the blending of her work, life and passion, and the struggles woven throughout.