Alaina & Hannah Gonzalez // Chicago, IL

Chicago ballerina photographer Peter Hinsdale was kind enough to introduce me to a few Chicagoan ballerinas, and fortunately I was able to make this shoot work, beating the rain to come the next day. I have never worked with twins before, so when Alaina messaged me telling me that her and her twin sister Hannah were interested in shooting, I jumped at the opportunity.

Usually when I travel - not usually, always - I’m at the mercy of the ballerina’s willingness and schedule availability. Alaina told me that 5pm would be the earliest that the twins could meet up with me, and I agreed. Upon landing at O’Hare in Chicago the day before the shoot, I quickly realized that 5pm would be way too late. Even with a 5:51pm scheduled sunset, the tall downtown buildings would obscure the light.

Thankfully Alaina made some changes, and informed me that they could show up by 4pm; we ended up starting at 4:30pm, a happy medium for me. This was the last frame - image #12 - in the shoot, and you can see the uplighting on the pillars already turning on. Normally sessions take a solid 90 minutes, but I was able to complete all twelve frames within 40 minutes.

I envisioned the twins dressed to the nines, identically. Identical twins should be dressed identically, no? Naturally, they had various outfits of the same kind - even wearing the exact same earrings.

In case you were wondering, Hannah is to the left, and Alaina is on the right.

October 27, 2021