Upon Reflection

In keeping with our mission to support and inspire creativity, we ask the artists we collaborate with to offer insight into their work, a look behind the scenes, and the opportunity for our readers to learn more about the process. For our latest fashion feature, photographer Charlotte Helwig answers our questions.
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What was the first step of putting together the concept and idea for this shoot?
A brief from Leila, a phone call with Jannis getting on the same page, the location research together with Clara from Lovecraft.

What is your favorite image from this shoot and why?
[The final image below.] It’s everything: Sanique’s pose, her poise, the look (which to me reflects Jannis’s inimitable work), and how she is mirrored again in front of this endless view—all of it contrasted with the random bathroom products in the foreground. To me, this makes it a terrific image.

How do you typically find inspiration for your work?
There can be so many ways to find inspiration. You can have oh-so-many mood boards and visual references, but at the end of the day, what really counts and what really inspires me is the process and the day when it all comes together. Collaborating with talented people who I trust one hundred percent and who I can align with will automatically transform into an energy that lets me flow and find inspiration from what’s right in front of me.

What do you do to overcome a creative block?
Sitting it out whilst being kind to myself. Going for walks or into nature to get onto new thoughts. Trying to write about it. Restricting phone access. People watching.

Do you have any surprising essentials on set?
Does home-cooked catering count?

How do you see your work evolving in the coming years?
I am feeling my work evolve on a shoot-to-shoot basis. It is quite wonderful to witness, but can sometimes result in being more critical about older work. As this evolution is also based on new learnings, new connections, and findings, I am excited myself to see where it will take me in a few years.

What is something you wish you had known when you were starting your career?
I studied photography quite young, fresh out of school, and I had no tangible idea of what it means to be an artist or what I had to say, because at that age, you have barely lived. Now, a decade later, I wish I knew how much perseverance, growth, time, side hustling, and dedication this path requires. Still, I would choose it over and over again.

Be the first to see this story and many more in print by preordering your copy of our eleventh issue here. Charlotte and Jannis have selected Save the Children’s mission in the Middle East as the recipient of proceeds from direct sales of CERO 11.⁠