A love letter to Lindbergh

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ART 135mm F1.4 DG

by Ara Coutts

I’ve been searching, for some time now, for the answer to a quiet question: “How do you capture longing?”

The moment I learned about Sigma’s latest Art lens and its ability to create incredibly soft, elegant bokeh with high-contrast resolution, my mind immediately went to Peter Lindbergh.
If you’re not familiar with Lindbergh’s work, he is widely considered one of the most iconic fashion photographers of our time. He had a singular gift for capturing raw human beauty by stripping away the excess, leaving us with only intimacy. His passing truly broke my heart.

While sharing the final images made with the Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG | Art lens, I want to take you behind the stillness. Into the spark that lit the idea. The collaborations that gave it breath. The constraints that invited intimacy. And the accidents that turned into magic.

In fashion photography we always begin with a moodboard to help align the team around a shared visual language. To create a story that honoured Peter Lindbergh’s interpretation of timeless beauty, I turned to Pinterest, to curate some of my favourite Lindbergh photographs: moody black-and-whites, high contrast, minimal backgrounds, stunning natural light, and that ethereal bokeh that gives the subject space to breathe. Looking at Peter’s work, I knew we had to cast someone with a raw, classic kind of beauty. We partnered with Elite Model Management to cast Bojana Reljic. She has a timeless presence, soft yet powerful.

For makeup, I wanted authenticity. We reached out to Lateisha Grant through P1M. Her approach is subtle, enhancing natural features without masking them. It was important to me that Bojana looks like herself. Not a character, not a mannequin, but a woman with a story behind her eyes. This season, I’ve been completely taken by the romanticism on the runways, especially the Chloé Winter 2025 collection by Chemena Kamali. Her layering of light fabrics to bring summer dresses into the cool of autumn, felt quietly rebellious. I loved the idea that elegance doesn’t need to be heavy-handed.

For styling, I brought on wardrobe stylist Rashi Bindra. She’s brilliant at translating high fashion into accessible looks. We talked about how every woman has a silk slip dress in her wardrobe, and how silk pyjamas have become the new post-pandemic luxury. That conversation led us to Silk Laundry, a Canadian-born brand creating timeless silk pieces. They generously lent us key items from their most recent collection. For jewelry, we worked with Michelle Ross, whose bold yet refined pieces added just the right amount of strength to the looks.

Shoot day called for thundershowers, but I still wanted to play in natural light to honour Lindbergh’s love for it. To ensure rain was a challenge we were ready for, we chose Neighbourhood Studios for its courtyard access and rain-proof equipment. Luckily, there was only a light drizzle, and the cloud cover instead gifted us with a giant diffuser.

Working with one prime lens meant I had to move. A lot. I had to think more carefully about composition, framing, and angles before pressing the shutter. It reminded me of when I first started in photography, working with just one lens and a lot of intention. That limitation became part of the poetry.

The first time I reviewed an image on the back of the camera, I gasped. The background didn’t just blur, it softened into silence. A visual hush. A compression that pulled all attention to the subject without losing the richness of the surrounding textures. Despite shooting in low light, this lens allowed me to open the aperture to F1.4, letting in enough light to keep the mood without compromising detail. Even dark tones against dark backdrops came alive. It honestly felt like I was shooting in medium format. I couldn’t believe how crisp and cinematic the images looked.

One of the biggest distinctions between editorial and advertising photography is the emotion in the details. I love motion blur, soft focus, and layering elements that feel like memory. This lens gave me so much room to play. The ability to layer soft neutrals in both wardrobe and backdrop, and still have the subject sing through the frame, is a gift. Further honouring Peter, the images are very lightly retouched, only to remove distractions. I worked with Danila Panfilov for his soft touch and minimalist approach.

To me, a fashion film is its own kind of poetry. It moves differently than traditional cinema. There is no beginning, middle, and end. The story is often circular, not linear. It is made to be watched in loops, whether on social media or playing on screens in showrooms. With each replay, the story settles deeper into your senses. Observing the quiet solitude of the studio courtyard, I found myself reflecting and longing for more quiet mornings on my deck. I wanted to romanticize that experience. Inspired by The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, a story of personal transformation and spiritual longing. I hoped to invite the viewer into an intimate moment. To witness the vulnerability of someone reflecting on who they are becoming. In the film, there’s a moment when the wind moves through the courtyard, and Bojana leans back in her chair, surrendering to it. Just for a second, with eyes closed. That is the kind of shot I live for. And the Sigma 135mm F1.4 DG | Art caught it beautifully. Every thread in soft motion.

Behind the Scenes

About

Ara Coutts is a Toronto-based fashion and advertising photographer whose artistic journey began with a humble Sigma lens, a tool that became her creative compass. Photography has unlocked a new language for her, offering a way to express emotions and narratives beyond words. Her distinctive style intertwines fashion, identity, and the poignant beauty of nostalgia. Inspired by “saudade,” the bittersweet longing for what is lost, Ara’s work seeks to capture the fleeting beauty of life’s imperfection. Through her lens, Ara illuminates the profound connection between fashion and culture, revealing how our choices in style mirror the values and emotions of our times.

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