Away from the Open Space

Monday 6 October 2025, 16:32 by Michiel Heijmans | 2,713 views | 1 comment

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

I still catch myself having this strange reflex sometimes. Someone is standing in front of my lens, I take a step to the side, and hear myself think: “More space in front of the gaze.” It is a neat little rule. It reads easily. It feels safe.

But in my studio, during a personal shoot to test light and challenge myself, I let that go. Deliberately. We chose friction, not the safe emptiness. And that is exactly where something happened. Something real.

I knew Janaika from Instagram and we completely agreed that we should shoot together sometime. She came into my studio with energy and experience. I normally shoot with other photographers and inexperienced entrepreneurs, so this was fairly new for me too.

Because I had looked closely at Janaika's instagram profile, I knew her beautiful “model face”, and we agreed to try to stay away from it this time.

Less fashion, more person. This was a personal shoot, not a commission, which gave us room: no rush, playing with light, shifting direction, seeing what is missing and what remains. We started as always: talking, building the light, finding our breath. And then the images emerged naturally.

We looked for variation. Small shifts. A half turn. A pause. “Hold that,” I said. She did not look towards the open space, but towards the edge of the frame instead. Against the flow, straight into the light. As if something had just happened outside the frame. Not a trick, but the result of how we stood together in that space and where the light drew her.

The edge as direction

I can bring the moment back. Chin slightly towards the light. Eyes away from me. Not looking away out of shyness, or to relax, but very deliberately. An introverted direction of gaze with extrovert expression. The combination created tension without shouting.

The image held something back. And that drew me closer. A small remark brought a smile.

I am not a purist who hates rules. Rules are useful starting points. They help you read and build. But as soon as they start determining the image, you lose the person. Deviating from the rules brings you back to what it is about. The person first, then the photo.

As if there is more outside the frame

I love that tension. A gaze towards the edge, and still an open face. As if something is happening just outside our view. You feel the context without it being named. The photo does not tell you everything. It suggests. The possibility of filling in your own story.

Put that next to the classic image with open space in front of the gaze. “Looking into the photo.” It is pleasant. Calm. Everything is ready for the viewer. But sometimes you do not want that at all. Sometimes you would rather have a little friction. Sometimes you want the viewer to take half a step to enter the image.

That is what an edgeward gaze does for me. It pulls, it pushes, it leaves something untranslated. I find myself thinking of a vague photo by Vanfleteren. Rules? There are no rules.

“But that looks so restless,” I sometimes hear. Yes. And restlessness can be more truthful than calm. Especially if you want to capture someone's energy rather than just their face. In this shoot, it worked because her expression was strong enough. Laughing without trying to please. Looking without demanding a look back.

Light, lens and distance

The technique helped too. I used a large Godox umbrella, 165 centimetres, white inside, with diffuser. Soft, broadly spread light. My trusty Profoto A2 did the rest. Low power. Room for nuance in the skin and a soft shadow on the “closed” side of the frame.

Exactly where I wanted to feel that tension. It seems directed, but these things always happen spontaneously.

On my camera, the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 WR. I shot at f/5.6. A deliberate choice. Character, but enough sharpness to hold that gaze. I kept the distance short, close enough for contact. Far enough for breath and air. The light straight onto her face. Balance in the image.

Light directs a photo, directs the viewer. Where contrast and texture meet, that is where the eye goes. If you let your light speak on the other side, you capture that edgeward gaze in a beautiful, calm composition. You shift the centre of gravity without weakening the image.

People are happy to be directed

“You are the photographer.” You surely know that statement. I prefer to let it emerge, often from a single photo on Pinterest. A different starting point.

I draw with my hands how I see a face. Something offered, to the left. Just look up, into the softbox. Can you hold that? Otherwise, feel free to look away for a moment. A slight turn. Short instructions, in plain Dutch. No difficult terms.

“Hold that.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, but your chin slightly up.”
A smile.
“Good, this. Hold it. Relax.”
Click.

It is all actually very small. Micro-movements, short instructions, a good conversation.

Open space, for everything

Do you always have to look towards the open space? No. Should you never do it? No either. The question is: what do you want the image to say? Do you want to give direction, or leave room for interpretation? What deeper layer are you giving the image?

Do not let learned rules limit you, but keep them in the back of your mind. So that you can deliberately deviate from them. Also shoot the photo that is correct according to the rules. And then one more. And then the one where you comfortably fly off the bend. That completes the series.

The next time you hear yourself think: “More space in front of the gaze,” take a breather. Look at your light. Look at the face in front of you. Listen to that face. And ask yourself: will this image be better for obeying, or for that small friction at the edge?

You can find more photos from this shoot at Janaika and me on Instagram.

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