chiaroscuro.

Project type Artistic collection shoot

Roles Concept, art direction, photography

Client Kinki Kappers, Redken Benelux

Year 2020

Location Amsterdam

Hair by Kinki Kappers

MUA Amber Shabban

Fashion by Mirjam Manusama

Styling by Ma Mo

A fashion model with short black hair and large earrings poses against a white backdrop while a stylist applies hair spray and a person on the right captures the scene with a smartphone.

the concept.

Chiaroscuro explores contrast as a fundamental condition rather than an aesthetic choice. In a world that often frames light and darkness as opposites, the collection treats them as two different perspectives of the same whole.

Without darkness, light has no meaning. Through this lens, the work shows how contrast shapes perception and emotion.

By pushing light–dark relationships, reducing midtones, and emphasising difference in colour, symmetry, and form, the collection highlights how tension creates depth. Not just visually, but emotionally, and in doing so revealing how contrast can provoke, define, and complete a narrative.

A woman in a gray overcoat and black pants standing against a white backdrop, with another person adjusting her coat. The woman has straight, dark hair with colorful bangs, and is dressed in fashion-forward clothing, likely in a photoshoot studio setting.

the shoot.

The visual language of the collection was built entirely in-camera. Coloured gel lighting was combined with flash and longer exposure times, allowing the coloured light to trail behind the subject after the flash fired. This technique created sharp, high-contrast images with layered light leaks, balancing precision with unpredictability.

The result is a series of images where form is carved out of darkness, and colour behaves almost as a secondary subject. Light doesn’t simply illuminate; it moves, fractures, and leaves traces, reinforcing the central idea that light and darkness only exist through one another.

A woman with long dark hair and light skin, standing against a plain white background, wearing a black strappy top, gray wide-legged pants, and sneakers, with her head bent forward.
A woman with long, braided hair and a top with black straps, appearing in a fashion or artistic photoshoot with a plain, light-colored background.
A woman with long, flowing hair wearing light-colored sneakers and loose pants, standing sideways against a plain white background.
Fashion model with curly, platinum blonde hair posing in a studio against a plain background, wearing an avant-garde outfit with wide-legged pants, a black and white layered top, and sneakers.
A woman with rainbow-colored, curly hair and gold lipstick poses against a plain background, wearing a unique black and white outfit with cutouts.
A person with colorful, curly hair and dark makeup poses against a plain background, wearing layered and stylish clothing including a black jacket, beige bandeau top, black pants, and white boots.
Fashion model standing confidently with legs apart, wearing a long, open coat over a black crop top and wide-leg pants, with colorful hair and white ankle boots, against a plain white background.
A young woman with long, straight hair that is dyed in shades of purple, pink, and blue, looking down with her eyes closed. She is wearing a black crop top, a beige oversized coat, and black pants, with pink lighting accentuating her hairstyle and ou
A woman with long, colorful hair styled with shades of purple, pink, teal, and blue, posing with legs apart and hands holding coat open. She wears a black crop top, baggy black cargo pants with white details, beige ankle boots, and a beige coat with
Side profile of a person with punk hairstyle, multiple facial piercings, and dark makeup, wearing a black and gray fashion outfit against a plain white background.
Person with short, spiky hair and multiple piercings in a dynamic pose, wearing a layered outfit with a cropped top, wide-leg pants, and high-top shoes, against a plain background.
A woman in profile with a mohawk hairstyle dyed with blue, green, purple, and pink streaks, wearing black lipstick, earrings, and a futuristic outfit with sheer fabric and black accents.