Penneys is usually a place where you dig through trenches of cheap clothes to find your size. You may also stand in queues so long that you need to book time off work before you’re even at the till. But when you leave with your treasures wrapped in a raindrop-phobic bag, excited to show anyone who’ll feign interest, you know your trip was worth it. When I visited Penneys one afternoon, I found something that dulled the busy atmosphere and immediately ceased my shopping; A very colourful new concept I couldn’t wait to share.

As soon as I saw Chloe, with blue hair and an array of beautiful tattoos, I immediately wanted to photograph her. Quickly abandoning whatever I was looking at, I introduced myself and told her about my interest in capturing her unique appearance on camera. To my sheer delight, she took my contact details and I left Penneys with a new muse.

A few days passed before we met again to discuss ideas on how we should execute her shoot. My goal was to highlight her tattoos in a way that showed their femininity. They were stunning by themselves, each sharing a piece of Chloe’s unique personality. To highlight the essence of femininity, I sourced a dress that didn’t distract from Chloe’s tattoos, but enhanced them. I used two specific tattoos as inspiration when choosing the dress. These tattoos were two eyes, blue and orange, which were etched onto each of her knees. The dress was orange with a floral pattern that created a softness to contrast Chloe’s strong presence. Although the dress was very pretty, the woman who wore it, her skin a permanent exhibition of her artwork, exuded feminine power.

After all, what’s more beautiful than proudly displaying your individuality, everywhere you go?

In front of the backdrop I painted for the shoot, Chloe’s feminine power commanded the attention of the camera. Each pose was struck with a mixture of unapologetic confidence and grace. In some photos, her blue locks were pushed back to ensure I captured as many of her tattoos as I could.

We worked extremely well together that day. Chloe was the focal point of the photos, but she was also the idea, the design and the execution of this shoot. Her colourful personality was what directed me as I captured each photo. I was overjoyed to see how happy she was with the results. I edited the photos to enhance her tattoos and make every hue of Chloe stand out as vividly as possible. I finished our shoot feeling confident with my ability to capture every aspect of her beauty and identity as they merged to form this stunning woman.