Felicia Simion won our March 2026 Black & White competition, with a stunning image of her young cousin Felix which judge Léa Thouin praised for capturing “a fragile yet compelling performance of adulthood.”

As a long-time submitter to Life Framer, we’ve followed Felicia’s work for some time but this was our first chance to put some questions to her. And so we relished the opportunity: asking her about her route into her photography, the inspiration behind her series with Felix, and what inspires her ongoing passion with image-making…

Felicia, congratulations on winning our recent Black & White competition! Please introduce yourself in a few words…

Hello, and thank you very much! I am a Freelance Photographer and Visual Artist based in Romania. I have been practicing photography for 18 years now, my works situating themselves somewhere at the border between reality and fiction. In the recent years, I have explored themes such as motherhood, family, identity, childhood or tradition.

Your winning image, I understand, is from a series in which you confront the ending of your own childhood by collaborating with your young cousin, Felix. Can you tell us a little more about how that idea came about?

Indeed. I was 18 when I began this series of pictures as I was facing the beginning of adulthood. I was feeling a bit disoriented and nostalgic about my own childhood, so I decided to document my cousin’s childhood, in order to bring back my memories. The idea thus came from my need to reiterate something that was long gone, something that I felt was lost.

And you can you describe the circumstances behind this specific shot?

In the winning shot, Felix is dressed as a Romanian shepherd. I found these clothes in an old closet and I thought that they would create a character out of Felix. Multiple times in this project, Felix dressed as an adult – thus we “switched” roles: he became a grown-up, while I became a child again.

What has it been like to work with such a young subject / collaborator?

For me, working with children is one of my favorite parts of being a photographer. I enjoy this because children are natural, spontaneous, surprising, and they aren’t as interested as adults in how they appear to the camera. I’ve also worked with my own daughter, who now is 7 years old, and she taught me a lot about being a child photographer.

And what would you say the series has taught you about yourself? Do you take his childhood wonder into other aspects of your life?

I definitely do! Through this series, I learned that I can play again in photography. It recalled my passion for this art, a passion that I thought back then was gone. I am now 32 and I still love being playful in what I create. I dislike fixed notions, immovable ideas. I like experimenting and discovering new things about myself through art.

Photography was something that you yourself discovered when very young. What role does it now play in your life?

At the moment, I work as a photographer, but I am interested in more forms of art, such as writing, video and, more recently, pottery. I think that my road in art is forever changing, and I like that, even though photography remains my main occupation.

You’re prolific, and with a background in cultural anthropology tend to draw on themes of family, identity, tradition… How do your projects come about?

I like to focus on specific themes at once, especially when I create personal projects. Although my commercial projects are varied, never constant, when I take personal photography, I enjoy doing some research on the subject and keeping myself concentrated on one area (such as documentary, or portraiture) at a time.

And who, or what inspires you outside of photography?

I am inspired by nature and our connection with it. I am inspired by my daughter, the way she grows, the way she says things that stick to my mind. I am inspired by poetry, I’ve been reading lots of it in recent years. And I’m also inspired by spirituality and the role it plays in our lives.

Do you have a favorite image or two you could tell us a little more about?

It’s very hard to pick, but one of my most beloved photos is a collage I did, inspired by the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși. It depicts a woman captured from behind, with a hairstyle which acts like a parallel to the Infinity Column, one of Brâncuși’s most renowned works.

Your images have also been featured on many book covers, which I know is a dream area for a lot of photographers. How did this aspect of your work come about?

I have quite a long history with that. My photos have appeared on over 100 book covers, in various countries around the world. When I was younger, I was contacted by publishers such as Penguin or Random House, and I am also represented by the Trevillion agency, which generated most of my collaborations within the book industry.

What’s the best piece of advice you’d pass on to your younger self if you could?

Don’t let yourself discouraged. Be persistent, extract inspiration from all that you see and all that you become through seeing.

And finally, what can we expect from you next?

In the near future I would like to work again on documentary photography, and maybe video, as well. I want to write and to continue my artistic endeavour in ways that I have not yet explored.