Power in Proximity: An Editorial Study of Feminine Presence

Photography by Ayuba Enesi

Models: Esther Nkrumah (Fad Models) and Faye Robinson

Power in Proximity is a studio-based editorial that examines what happens when two women share space without hierarchy or spectacle. The project is not interested in dominance or performance. Instead, it focuses on the quieter shifts that occur when bodies exist in relation to one another, how confidence is tempered, reflected, or intensified by proximity.

Across the series, closeness becomes a compositional tool rather than a narrative conclusion. Bodies align, separate, mirror, and resist. The camera does not search for confrontation, but for charge. Each frame holds a tension that is felt rather than explained, created through posture, eye line, and the measured distance between the subjects. Power emerges not through movement, but through restraint.

The visual language is deliberately minimal. Controlled studio lighting isolates form and texture, allowing skin, silhouette, and negative space to carry the emotional weight. Styling is pared back to remove distraction, placing emphasis on symmetry and contrast. Differences in tone, structure, and stance are not flattened, but allowed to coexist, creating a dialogue that feels mutual rather than oppositional.

As the series progresses, the relationship between the two women shifts subtly. Moments of separation give way to closeness, then return again. Vulnerability and strength are not positioned as opposites, but as states that pass between subjects. Identity feels fluid here, shaped by presence rather than assertion. The viewer is invited to notice the invisible lines that form when two people respond to one another without words.

Shot at Madsaint Studio in Liverpool using a single-lens perspective, the work maintains visual consistency while allowing emotional variation. Cohesive colour grading reinforces the mood and continuity of the story, encouraging the viewer to sit with each image rather than move quickly through it. Power in Proximity ultimately presents power as relational, expressed through stillness, awareness, and the quiet intensity of shared space.

Credits
Photographer: https://www.instagram.com/ayubaenesi
Model: https://www.instagram.com/esthernkrumah0
Model: https://www.instagram.com/fayeee.03
Studio: https://www.instagram.com/madsaintstudio