This shoot was with Knvwn in Houston, right in front of the waterfall at the Galleria. We were shooting at night, and the revolving lights around the waterfall created this incredible nightlife ambiance. The warm glow hitting the cascading water added a natural aesthetic to the background, and I knew I wanted to use that as part of the story in my frame.

I approached the shoot with the motion of the waterfall and the overall darkness in mind. Using my Sony a7III, I set the shutter speed to 1/250, aperture to f/2.8, and ISO at 400 to balance Knvwn with the ambient light. I also brought in an off-camera flash to illuminate Knvwn while letting the warm waterfall lights enhance the scenery behind her. The light power was set to 1/4 to avoid blowing out the whites/hightlights. And with my 24–70mm f/2.8 Sigma lens, I had the flexibility to capture everything from close headshots to wider environmental shots.

What made this shoot truly special was how the waterfall interacted with the scene. Being so close to it, water droplets naturally landed on Knvwn’s skin, clothing, and jewelry; and even on my lens at times. In some of the shots, these little droplets caught the flash in unexpected ways, creating a shiny flare on Knvwn. So when I got into editing, I leaned into that effect, raising highlights on her jewelry and the silver details of her hat to emphasize that natural sparkle.

This ended up being one of my favorite shoots because of how the environment influenced the final result. The unplanned elements; the water droplets, the reflections, the movement; all added layers of beauty I couldn’t have created intentionally. It reminded me that sometimes what feels like an inconvenience can actually enhance a shot in ways you never expected.