Photographer Delphine Chanet captures the carefree energy of adolescence

Delphine Chanet’s portraits mix elements of fashion and documentary photography making her work feel both real and imagined. Her semi-constructed realities are full of soft, dreamy colours and easygoing movements. This particular series, which was entered into the annual Recontres d’Arles photography festival, captures the vibrancy and tactility seen throughout the French photographer’s portfolio. Delphine follows a group of teenagers as they meander through a pastel-toned landscape looking unbelievably chic.

Since having her daughter, Delphine has found herself drawn to photographing children and teenagers more often for their warmth and unpredictability. Her contributions to Milk magazine, the French fashion publication for funky parents and children, means she regularly shoots kids for fashion spreads but the ease and outdoor location of this project, allows Delphine to focus more on the relationship between her young subjects instead. Both fragile and invincible, the teenagers walk that tenuous line between innocence and adulthood, making their vulnerability even more palpable. Themes of friendship and femininity can be extracted through Delphine’s delicate crops that hone in on the girls’ clothes and gestures.