Through the Lens: Colin Dancel
Manila-based photographer on the image as lived experience
‘Through the Lens’ is a series that explores in detail images from fashion image-makers in Southeast Asia, shining a light on their creative and technical processes.
For Manila-based photographer Colin Dancel, image-making, at its core, is a way of attending to the transformations that shape our interior and external lives. Whether documenting her friends’ weddings or shooting campaigns for brands like Vania Romoff and APARA, crafting a “perfect” image is not at the centre of her practice. What is more salient in her work is how the interplay of subject, space, light, and posture conveys meaning.
In this conversation, we trace the evolution of Colin’s visual language, from the influence of early 2000s internet culture to her more recent exhibitions like Little Immensities at Tarzeer Pictures and Smiling Makes Your Day Better for Vestido Manila. What comes through is a portrait of an image-maker who captures life in all its unscripted, unpolished forms.
Gabbie Sarenas for NoliSoli Cover, 2023. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Hi, Colin! How have you been? It is great to have witnessed the evolution of your practice over the years. Could you tell us how it all began and what drew you to photography in the first place?
Hi, Zea! I do not think I have been doing it for very long, but would you believe that it has been eight since I picked up the camera? I started photography as I was (miserably) trying to stay in fashion school. I eventually dropped out, and photography clarified the way forward. Growing up watching Gossip Girl, Hannah Montana, and being a Tumblr, lookbook, blogger girl all amalgamated to the pursuit of a creative life.
Untitled, 2022. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
What has shaped your visual language as an image-maker?
At the moment, there are two things that are clear to me:
The first is the discovery of both the self and the world. I feel incredibly grateful to the craft as it has opened up worlds for me. It heals and inspires. And with it, I make space for beauty, whatever shape or form that may take.
The second is creating space for quiet. I can only hope that my photographs embody some level of serenity. I love going to museums and letting the world fade for a bit, and that is how I want my photographs to feel.
Self-Portraits of a Dreamer 4, 2025. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Self-Portraits of a Dreamer 5, 2025. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Your group show Little Immensities, together with Andie Remulla and Rob Frogoso, was held at Tarzeer Pictures in June. What ideas were you working through for the show?
Self-Portraits for a Dreamer is about the choices we face, especially as women. I am finally at a place in my life in which I have the resources to live the dreams I have always had. Funnily, I am also at an age where I have to decide whether or not I want a family. There are many factors at play here—my body, economics, and time.
I was thinking about the push and pull of growing up and having to accept your finitude. Having to accept that I can not have it all, but that I can live now. Fully. Whatever that looks like.
Smiling Makes You Feel Better 2, 2025. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Smiling Makes You Feel Better 7, 2025. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
You were also part of Vestido Manila’s fashion exhibition Worn Stories in February this year, where you presented Smiling Makes Your Day Better (2025), a photographic series featuring a selection of Vestido dresses. How did the series come together?
Smiling Makes Your Day Better threads similar lines of the series shown in Tarzeer. I am going through this phase of embracing uncertainty and the unseriousness of it all. By all, I mean life! I wanted to play with the dresses and the many forms and lives that they take on. The transformations we undergo repeatedly, simply because we can, seem like a good use of free will to me.
Vania Romoff for BYS Teaser Image, 2023. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Christal Chung for Akonggugma Campaign, 2023. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Your body of work spans brand commissions and more personal projects. How do you navigate the differences between the two? Do they require distinct modes of thinking, or do they inform each other in some way?
You know, I think my approach remains anchored in the integrity of not just the image, but also how we got there. This is something I am still learning about, but I have a strong urge to take care of an image because it is a lived experience.
A good example is wedding photography. As much as possible, I would not get in the way of a moment to get my shot. To watch a moment transpire and capture it—that is it.
I also ensure that my team is a solid unit for a shoot. Everyone is taken care of and fed well. The environment in which we take these photographs is just as important. I want the subject to feel comfortable with me. An image is an amalgamation of all things that had to take place for it to exist. This may seem like an overcomplication of photography, but it is not. It is a practice.
Maita Hagad for Pranca Campaign, 2022. Image courtesy of Colin Dancel.
Lastly, your work often gestures toward the transformation of identity, material, or mood. How did you come to these themes in your work?
My work reflects what I am going through as a person. My grief, joy, transformation, and what I am holding at the moment. All of these are just me living a life, hopefully a full life.
Anger, 2022. Image courtesy of the Colin Dancel.
What plans do you have in store for your practice moving forward? Are there any projects that you are currently working on?
There is a lot. I want to explore printmaking, layout design, and discover ways of how we live and experience images. I am open to any insights!
See more of Colin’s work on her website here or on Instagram at @colindancel.