EDITORS’ PICK
The Soul Made Visible
PORTRAITS
PORTRAITS EDITORS’ PICK
Following Joakim Eskildsen’s selection of winning images for our recent Portraits competition, this compilation of 20 images represents some of the other talented photographers whose work struck us and left a mark. Each a stunning image worthy of exposure and attention…
When selecting for editor’s picks we’re always searching for those striking photographs that make for an unforgettable single image, whether from a broader series or not. We enjoy the accompanying text some photographers submit with their images, and while not always necessary it can be relevant when understanding the work in full context.
These are intended to be a conversation starter… so feel free to join the discussion on our social networks.
BANNER IMAGE: KSENIA MIRNAYA
Whimsical, entertaining, and engaging, this group portrait in black and white highlights the photographer’s exquisite storytelling skills. The composition is simple and effective, making the subject stand out and leading the viewer from one record to another, from one period to another. It can easily become a movie poster, an advert, or a CD cover because it has both the immediacy to grab attention, and the sense of intrigue that leaves you eager to know more. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Vinyl Souls.
ALEISHA ZOUMARAS
How much lighting can influence the message behind a portrait! By choosing to use natural light as a rim light that glows on the model’s face and hands, the photographer has infused the composition with the joy of a life well-lived. Instead of seeing an old woman, the viewer sees intimate details, precious moments, and gratitude. The photograph candidly tells us to embrace and celebrate life every step of the way. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Ilse Mittermaier at home. My oma and best friend, now 97, has endured a life of trials and hardship, yet her spirit has always remained soft and sweet.
HANNA WOLF
To create such an empowering portrait takes more than technical skills and an outstanding model. It takes the openness to listen and connect, the willingness to see the other aspects of an otherwise traumatic experience, and the powerful ability to replace compassion with unconditional love. Embellished in warm light and delicate lace, the human body becomes a vessel, not of what is lost, but of what is gained: a redefinition. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Fiona. I met Fiona as part of an ongoing series exploring the stories of mothers who were unable to hold their children at birth. After the unexpectedly traumatic birth of her twins, Fiona faced the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer. The lost moments of holding her newborns on her chest echoed in ways she could never have imagined as she underwent a double mastectomy. When we met, six months after her surgery, Fiona shared that she was ready to be photographed with her scars. What began as the absence of touch transformed into a profound journey of grief, resilience, and triumph, reclaiming her body not just as a place of healing but as a space where motherhood and selfhood can be reimagined.
MONÍK MOLINET
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and here, the photographer proved this right. The image portrays the beauty, the joy, and all the good things that exist amidst the bad ones. It’s up to us to choose what we see, and the hope is to see kindness and light above all else. The simple composition with a central subject empowers, builds trust and confidence, and provides the subject with a voice. What an honorable purpose for photography! – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Since 2014, La Quinta de los Molinos in Havana, Cuba has been driving the Quinta for Social Inclusion Project, dedicated to young people with intellectual disabilities between 15 and 50 years old who have completed their schooling. This space offers vocational training, educational workshops, psychological support, and skill development tailored to each participant’s potential, fostering autonomy, self-esteem, and well-being. The project currently employs 21 people in gardening, nursery maintenance, and administrative support, providing full labor rights, fair wages, and personalized guidance. Quinta for Social Inclusion has become a benchmark for inclusion, demonstrating that with support and spaces designed for their abilities, all individuals can contribute value to society and live with dignity.
How can I portray those who give life to this project without reducing them to the label of disability? This question guided my gaze as a feminist photographer. My response emerged by focusing the lens on the individuality of each subject, celebrating their way of inhabiting the world and capturing stories that are not defined by a condition, but affirmed through diversity, dignity, authenticity, and joy revealing a humanity that transcends any stereotype. At times, I brought out my Mamiya and handed them the shutter, symbolically granting the capacity for self-representation. These were deeply meaningful and moving moments for me and for the entire team. In this series, I transform photography into an act of resistance against reductive narratives, and a tribute to the community life that sustains the Quinta project.
KIOWA LE CLEC’H
What separates heroes from normal people is often not what they are or do but what one knows about them. This fine-art portrait transforms a normal person into an icon by the power of clothing, makeup, and light. The minimalist composition and the highly skilled use of lighting make the subject stand out and become a memorable figure. The refined touch of pop culture localizes the portrait in a much more modern era than the one of fairytales. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From a series of photographs of residents from the city of Saint-Ouen, in the Paris region. The series is called “Queen for a Day, Icon Forever” and aims to celebrate ordinary people as icons of the city. It refers both to American high school prom kings and queens, and to representations of religious icons.
PETER MEZEI
A fantastic use of light and shadow, both as an aesthetic theme and a metaphorical one, creating a conflict that dominates everything. The portrait is full of tension and drama, of harsh edges and soft curves, of past trauma, present suffering, and, maybe, future hopes. There is so much happening in this apparently minimal frame that the viewer is coerced to take in every detail and texture, and importantly to confront their own feelings. – LIFE FRAMER
THOMAS MOREL-FORT
In a surreal atmosphere with neon lights and traditional masks, a woman and a child make their appearance. Or is it that in an ordinary train station, a strange phantom of the past appears? This double portrait is a mysterious play that thrills the audience, making us breathlessly look for clues in expectation of the next move. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Yachao ZHAO, Chinese dancer and mask maker. Art of Bian Lian. Dijon, 20 July 2022. Burgundy region.
From the series Is art essential? The persistent question of the essence of art, raised in concrete terms during the health crisis, is in fact timeless.
For the past four years, we have been committed to portraying the performing arts in France, captured through the lens of a view camera, our own accessory. Our exploration began during lockdown in 2020, revealing on our film frames artists who were hampered and cultural venues that were closed. We understood that our approach went far beyond the current health situation and questioned something profound: the place of artists in our society.
We then travelled throughout France, offering a panoramic view of the performing arts and the many faces of those who practise them. As we travelled through these regions, we wanted to depict how artists, at the local level, create bonds, transmit history and identity, and bring communities together. ‘The artist is forged in this perpetual back-and-forth between himself and others, halfway between the beauty he cannot do without and the community he cannot tear himself away from.’
Our photographic project shines a light on those who bring culture to life in France. Made up, masked or costumed as if to better reveal themselves, they pose before us. Artists. Alive.
FADI SALIB
The photographer took on the difficult task of creating a narrative within an anti-portrait. Playing with light and shadows, straight lines and curves, mysteries and revealing truths, the photographer invites us into a fascinating world, sparks our curiosity and imagination, and leaves us yearning for more. All ingredients of a great shot. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Menofia, Egypt, 2025. Part of a larger series of images of my ongoing project “rediscovering home” explore rural/farm life on the Nile and Nile delta.
BENIZI SANTAMARIA
Excellent framing! The way the walls open to reveal the family and its household is so warm and welcoming. It adds depth and builds a three-dimensional scene that makes you feel invited into their home. The photographer and the viewers are not hidden observers but guests, which creates a bond between people and families across the world. A beautiful message for humanity. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Separating people from their environment gives you an incomplete story. The Environmental Portrait fulfils the character.
Orna and Daughter- Tobelo, Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia.
DANIEL RAMOS
This candid group portrait captures an entire culture. Multiple generations and attitudes overlap in a colorful composition, demanding a lot of time from the viewer to get through all of it. Although busy, the composition remains harmonious and dynamic, highlighting the photographer’s technical skills and attention to detail. All the elements in the frame are there for a reason and part of the story. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Mexico City.
VALERIA CAMMARERI
A beautiful, classic, black and white portrait, with a harmonious composition and high technical quality, this photograph shows that the value of an image doesn’t necessarily stand in novelty or shock factor. Even when you take the same path many have trodden before you, if you pour your soul into it, the result will be unique and impressive. The image is just love, light, and emotion. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From a series dedicated to my elderly parents. For the last ten years I have been taking portraits of them to fix in my memory most of the moments spent together.
LUDWIG OBLIN
Fine-art portraiture is a good choice for showing the multiple faces of our personalities. The image is an exposé of our internal tumult of emotions and thoughts, and it shows us what we can’t or don’t want to see: the difference between the real self and the persona we show up as. Abstract from start to finish, cold, metallic, and invasive, the photograph strikes a chord and stays with you as more than an afterthought. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Inner Battle. This image came to me after a friend told me: “Whether you’re suffering or angry and try to hide it, it fails — it literally shows on your face”.
OLIVIER LAVENAC
A story about friendship, love, and connection, this image denotes the profound role of portraiture as the exposer of the human soul. Even though there is a visible environment, one doesn’t feel the need to look anywhere else than at the two subjects. Their hug fills the frame and our hearts. It therefore feels entirely natural that the photographer positioned them in the center of the frame. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Tales of Tearama is the story of a human journey that began with a meaningful encounter — between the young people and the professionals at the Tearama Institute for Medical-Educational Integration (IIME), in Paea, on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia.
Tearama welcomes and supports children and adolescents with cognitive, psychological, and/or mental disorders, sometimes combined with other forms of disability, through a specialized educational approach.
Launched in July 2025, this photographic series begins with a developing gallery of portraits. It offers a personal perspective on the daily life shared by the children and adults at Tearama.
STREETMAX 21
Playful and touching, the image highlights an entire culture, inter-generational issues, lifestyle differences, and commonalities. Multiple layers of contrast capture the viewer’s attention, raising questions and starting conversations. It’s a memorable shot that goes way beyond the meaning of a simple portrait and addresses much more profound topics. – LIFE FRAMER
DENISE PENSKY
By choosing a low-angle camera position, the photographer empowered the subjects and gave them complete freedom of expression. They fill the frame with their innocence, hopes, and childhood experiences. At the same time, the compositional choice produced a well-balanced group portrait that presents each subject and conveys more than one story. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Children in Cuba, Havana, Cuba 2019.
OLGA NIKISHOVA
This is more than a group portrait; it is a statement. The pyramid of bodies, graciously entangled, is a metaphor for seeking acknowledgment, having their collective voice heard. Color palette choice helps the narrative, as does the vertical composition with plenty of space above, where all their dreams and hopes transpire. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – The other — the harmony of a collective voice.
PIOTR SKUBISZ
A very creative approach to portraiture that gives the subject the chance to be both model and frame. By giving up color, the photographer endorses the inner world, allowing us to focus on the existential search, the need to make peace with ourselves and find our own paths. There’s exquisite use of light as a leading line, from darkness to the bright sky. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – Framed. Part of the series “Portrait of a Poet – A Journey Through Layers”. This series of monochromatic portraits explores the multifaceted persona of Manka Menga, a Tanzanian poet whose work challenges societal norms and serves as a form of self-expression and therapy. It’s an intimate journey into the poet’s singular world, yet a reflection of the universal human experience, where we all seek to commune with ourselves.
Highlighting the paradox of human experience – the unique and the universal intertwined.
COULSON TENNANT
The photographer found a way to infuse this shot with the energy of youth, the warmth of companionship, and dreams for the future, and it’s all thanks to framing and color palette. The image is fresh and fluid, makes good use of negative space, and transforms wind into a visual element. It makes you wonder, “Where do we go next?” and not just in relation to the picture’s subject. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – So It Is is a series developed during a post-pandemic arts residency in rural southwest Scotland. Working with a small community arts centre, we created a digital programme for local teenagers to explore film, photography, and music. Over two years, we built strong relationships with the young people, and through regular meetups began shaping the ideas that became this photo essay. The work is rooted in conversations with teenagers about growing up in a small rural town, their ambitions, and their sense of place. The title, So It Is, comes from a local colloquialism often used by the group. Our interest in how people relate to home and community–regardless of age–formed the foundation of the project.
Through workshops in the local high school and arts centre, we developed a community of young people engaged in digital media. This led us to explore themes of digital inclusion and isolation in rural contexts, particularly in contrast with our previous work with urban teenagers. The pandemic underscored how those in remote locations risk falling behind in digital skills vital for future opportunities. The photographs reflect how these teenagers navigate adolescence–between 13 and 17 years old–against the backdrop of a global pandemic and a distinctive rural landscape. The work explores their transition from childhood to adulthood, their relationship with social and digital worlds, and their evolving sense of identity and belonging.
The images were made with a Rolleiflex 3.5E Twin Lens camera on Kodak Portra 120 film, chosen to counter the residency’s digital focus and to enable a slower, more considered approach to portraiture.
JOZEF MACAK
It’s fascinating to see how much we can learn about a person without ever seeing their face. Gestures, body language, and environment do much of the work. The photographer chose the elements of interest and splashed them out against the clear blue sky in an unorthodox but successful attempt to capture the viewer’s attention. A remarkable shot from all points of view. – LIFE FRAMER
Photographer statement – From the series Unseen Portraits. When faces disappear behind smoke, cloth, or a raised palm, other signals become easier to see. Work, play, and habit organize the frame and guide what we understand about the subject. Presence is described by gesture, light, and task rather than facial cues.
SONIA SIMBOLO
The picture captures a sweet moment of play in the company of a mirror and a few sun rays. It has a very interesting composition with a double focal point that makes the viewer look from one side to another, like in a ping pong match. The lines align perfectly, the shirt’s colorful pattern contrasts with the wood’s austere one, and light embellishes everything in a soft glow. All these harmonious visual elements create an appealing photograph and hook the viewer. – LIFE FRAMER
