Photographing My Yoga Practice

The dusty, hot air. The heat. The way the dirt felt under my bare feet.

The cool, murky water. Wondering, should I get in there? but knowing I would, knowing I wanted the shot with the water.

The way I felt uneasy but tried the balance poses anyway. How fun it was to laugh and fall out of a pose and get back into it, to see that process come to life in each image.

The way my photographer made things simple, which helped me feel confident.

I look back on these images, and they hold so much.

Over the years, I’ve done a bunch of yoga shoots. I always love looking back at the images and seeing a specific moment in my practice captured.

It’s fascinating the different memories that resurface, too.

I’ll remember small details about that day, what was going on in my life, how I felt about my body at the time. There are so many emotions woven into the images, so much subtle awareness from the poses. Stories and experiences that no one besides me would know about.

These images are from the first photo shoot I did with Angelo Hilton, who is now a dear friend and who I went on to shoot with many other times. I remember initially feeling nervous and excited. Before meeting, I was already such a fan of his work and knew we would be able to create some incredible images… and we did!

Every photographer has an eye for different aspects and helps bring different things out of you. This shoot flowed effortlessly.

I look back on it and I see more than just where I was in my yoga journey at the time: I see the emerging energy that led me out of a toxic relationship, I see a new awareness within myself that moved me into a period of grace and body acceptance instead of constantly questioning my worth. I see the fear and excitement I felt moving to a new place, that would eventually grow into feeling like home.

When I look at these images, I see a younger version of myself learning how to love myself and how to step into confidence and trust.

I’m curious, have you ever done a portrait shoot (yoga or otherwise)? How did it feel? How is it now, looking back on the images?

All images in this post by Angelo Hilton.