Best known for her candid portraits of girls on the brink of adulthood, Hellen van Meene is a Dutch natural light photographer. She explores the vulnerability and uncertainty of teenage life through her work. As he captures the feelings of youth and awkwardness, he invents his own fictions and scenes using girls as models. Through her unique way of seeing models and her thoughtful technique, Hellen van Meene manages to create photos that portray girls at this significant moment in their lives. The inspiration for his photography comes from the people he meets, young people and his own work. While not directly influenced by any photographer, she admires artists such as Diane Arbus and Sally Mann. His greatest inspiration, however, are the young people he photographs. “Young people are a source of great inspiration and I love being inspired by them. They are so open, new and fresh, they have to explore everything and I love guiding them” (Colberg). To create his square color portraits, Van Meene combines this with his inspiration for small, ordinary details such as "light falling on white skin, bruises on an arm, hands disfiguring in the water and goosebumps in the freezing weather" (Schampers). Van Meene defines his work as “photographs of adolescent situations and attitudes that represent the type of normality that we usually do not share with others but maintain ourselves” (Schampers). Looking at his photographs, especially his early works in his hometown, the scenes seem like normal intimate moments in the model's natural environment. However, there is usually something strange about them: a strange pose or an outfit that doesn't fit or is inside out. The honest-looking scenes often feel like windows into the girls' lives. H... in the center of the paper... natural light, avoids the distraction of studio lighting. She feels this helps her stay open to possibilities instead of worrying about setting a scene. For her, “being in a studio often means chasing a preconceived idea or image”. (Cotton) Under natural light, it can get photos with soft light and classic touch. Creating timeless scenes, Van Meene continues to explore the theme of adolescence in his work. More recently he created a series of photos for the New York Times portraying young actresses who broke through in 2009 (Secret). What first attracted me to his work was his use of natural light and color. As I continued to read about her, I became intrigued by her thoughts on adolescence and the way she photographs them. The way she chooses her models and the reasons why she photographs them help her create these unique images.