Fashion L'amour

The beauty of Ballerina Photography |

Most people will agree that ballerinas have a lot of grace. There is a certain undeniable beauty to their craft. More and more, you see most fashion photographers photographing them for their portfolios. Similarly, you now get a lot of ballerinas branching out and doing photoshoots away from their workplaces, and being photographed around cities in all sorts of settings. This has meant a merging of crafts, creating a lot of beautiful shots. Laeticia Junanto is one of these models who now does these kind of photoshoots a lot, and does it well.

1. How did you get into ballet?

There’s always been something so beautiful and graceful about ballet to me – so it was just a matter of time before it drew me in!

2. It’s famous for being very hard in the beginning, and being tough  
on the toes. How hard was that for you?

In short – very! It always makes me laugh to see how shocked the photographers are that I’m just used to my toes bleeding and blistering. Yet, ballet’s challenging reputation is one of the things I love about it – the idea that the hours you put in pretty much directly correlate to the results you get out is extremely satisfying.

3. When did you decide to start combining your love for ballet with modelling?

Only a year ago; a friend and I went to South Bank – he took a camera, I took a tutu and it all just snowballed from there!

4. What do you love about it?

Everything! At first it was the shift out of my comfort zone that was so thrilling, but soon after that it was the people I’d been able to meet and the opportunities it brought my way, that just would have been unimaginable over a year ago! I fell in love with being able to express myself in dance and capture and share it with people who genuinely wanted to see it.

5. Is there a particular place in London you’d love to pose on?

Recently, I’ve been loving the look of editorial photography, so there’s nowhere in particular, but I’d absolutely love to do more styled in-studio shoots!

6. Ballet shoes aside, what are your favourite ballet fashion pieces?

Tutus – 100% tutus!!

7. What else do you love to wear, apart from your ballet clothes?

I love a good pair of high waisted shorts in the summer, although recently I’ve been wearing skater dresses a lot more too.

8. Tell us something you think would surprise most people on ballet

You don’t have to start at six years old – this was a misconception I believed. People are always shocked when I tell them that I’m a full-time Maths student and I only started learning ballet a few years ago. Although it does take years and intense practice to master, I’ve learnt you can create something beautiful and really enjoy ballet without having to be a professional or a prodigy.

9. Any big plans for 2019?

Yes!! I’ll be shooting all summer and have got plans with some incredible photographers. I’ll be around the UK and also in Bali, Jakarta and Amsterdam. I can’t divulge details, but I’ve got a couple of fantastic projects lined up that I’m just so excited to make happen, all I can say is keep your eyes peeled!

Follow Laeticia on instagram HERE

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