I'd spent years learning how to read it

—how it moved through Paris , reflected off buildings, disappeared just before sunset. It became second nature.

I knew exactly where to stand, where to place someone, when to wait, and when to press the shutter.

I’ve mastered the art of 
natural light.

Flash photography, on the other hand, always felt like another language.

I loved the look of it—the polished editorials, the effortless glamour, the feeling that the photograph had been stolen from a fashion campaign

—but I never really gave myself permission to learn it.

Partly because I was comfortable.

And comfort is a dangerous place for creativity.

Everything changed when I worked on a mood board for a client for an upcoming content week.

It was filled with glamorous evening portraits, luxury hotels, glossy skin, and beautiful flash photography to capture the glam lifestyle of a model.

A few weeks earlier I'd also had the chance to borrow a fellow photographer's Profoto flash during a creative shoot in Paris.

That was all the excuse I needed.

I finally ordered my first Godox flash.