RPImaging: Prismatic Reverie
“Authenticity is something you feel long before you analyse it. [..] When the performance falls away and the person remains, that’s when I press the shutter.”
Text: VIONNE Magazine | Photographer: RPImaging | Model: Nicole Shannon
Improvisation, Instinct, and Intention
In a glowing cube of foil and fluorescence, “Prismatic Reverie” was born — a photo series where presence and light collide, shift, and transform. Created by visual artist RPImaging, and brought to life by the expressive energy of model Nicole Shannon, this series is a hypnotic tribute to the moments in-between — between shadow and illumination, between identity and perception.
Shot inside a deliberately sealed-off 3x3m foil space, the setting became a silent force in the narrative. Every surface reflected something unseen. Neon and UV tones scattered like emotion itself, echoing gestures and thoughts in surreal bursts of light. Rather than striving for aesthetic perfection, RPImaging chased truth — capturing micro-moments of authenticity in the transitions, where self-awareness dissolves and the subject emerges in full.
What unfolds is a visual reverie that feels more like an immersive memory than a photo series: intimate, bold, and ever-shifting. With light as a character, foil as a mirror of identity, and Shannon as both muse and co-creator, “Prismatic Reverie” is not a look — it's a feeling.
Interview with RPImaging
VIONNE: The lighting in this series feels almost like a character of its own. How did you design the interplay of reflection, shadow, and color to shape the mood of the images?
RPImaging: For this project, I wanted light to function almost as Shannon’s scene partner — something alive, reactive, and expressive. That’s why I built the entire shoot inside a foil-lined 3x3m gazebo. I didn’t want the outside world to exist. I wanted viewers to feel as if they were stepping directly into her universe, where colour could wrap around her without distraction.
The foil let the neon and UV tones scatter, pulse and bend in unpredictable ways. Instead of controlling every reflection, I embraced the chaos. The light became fluid — sometimes soft and dreamy, sometimes sharp and sculpting. Those shifts created the emotional rhythm of the series. In a way, Shannon stood at the centre while the light danced around her, revealing different facets of her presence moment to moment.
VIONNE: You mention that you weren't chasing perfection but truth. How do you know when you've captured that moment of authenticity during a shoot?
RPImaging: Authenticity is something you feel long before you analyse it. With Shannon, those moments always arrived in the transitions — the breath between poses, the micro-expressions, the flicker of thought in her eyes. When the performance falls away and the person remains, that’s when I press the shutter.
I’m not looking for flawless symmetry or technical perfection. I’m looking for the moment when someone forgets to appear a certain way, even just for a split second. In this series, the neon and UV glow almost acted as a veil, giving Shannon space to be both vulnerable and bold. Any time that duality surfaced, I knew we were hitting the truth of the image.
VIONNE: The mirrored elements in the set seem to bend reality — was this a metaphor for identity, perception, or something else?
RPImaging: The reflective surfaces were never intended as a heavy metaphor, but they naturally invite interpretation. For me, they represent the fluidity of how we see ourselves — how colour, mood, and environment shift our own sense of identity.
With Shannon, the reflections became an extension of her presence. They echoed her gestures, scattered her colours, and exaggerated her energy. Instead of distorting reality, the reflections helped visualise the parts of a person that aren’t always visible: their internal world, their contradictions, their quiet intensity. It wasn’t a metaphor I imposed — it grew organically from who she is.
VIONNE: Nicole Shannon is striking in every frame. How did your collaboration with her influence the visual language of the series?
RPImaging: From the moment she responded to the casting call, I knew Shannon was the right person for this concept. Her creativity, her openness, and her unfiltered enthusiasm shaped the entire direction of the shoot. She took one look at the mood board and instantly understood the atmosphere I was trying to build.
Once we stepped into the gazebo, she moved with complete freedom — flowing effortlessly from one pose to the next without needing direction. That spontaneity became a defining part of the visual language. The way she held her body, the way her tattoos caught the glow, the way her expressions shifted under the neon light — all of that influenced the tone more than any technical choice I made. The series works because it is, at its core, a collaboration between her energy and my lighting.
VIONNE: There's a dreamlike, almost surreal quality to the final visuals. Did any particular inspirations — artistic, cinematic, or personal — guide you while developing the concept?
RPImaging: The initial spark came from wanting to create a self-contained, atmospheric world — something that didn’t feel like it belonged to any real location. I was inspired by the idea of stepping into someone’s inner universe, where emotion shapes the environment.
Cinematically, I’ve always been drawn to bold colour and contained spaces — where light itself becomes part of the storytelling. But the strongest inspiration was simply the desire to explore how neon and UV tones interact with skin, texture and movement. Once the concept formed, the rest came from experimentation and instinct. The surreal quality wasn’t planned in detail; it emerged naturally from the interplay of light, foil, and Shannon’s presence.
VIONNE: How important is improvisation versus pre-planning when working with such bold lighting setups and experimental elements?
RPImaging: Both matter, but in different ways. The setup — the gazebo, the foil, the colour palette — was meticulously planned because I needed complete control over the environment. That structure was essential.
But once the lights turned on, improvisation became the heart of the shoot. The foil reflected in ways I couldn’t predict, and Shannon moved with a rhythm entirely her own. Rather than forcing the light to behave, I responded to it — adjusting angles, shifting hues, letting unexpected reflections guide new ideas. The magic of this series came from embracing those surprises.
VIONNE: If “Prismatic Reverie” had a soundtrack or a single lyric to sum up its essence, what would it be?
RPImaging: If I had to choose one line, it would be: “Step into the glow and become your own universe.” It captures everything the series is about — vulnerability, immersion, self-expression, and the transformative power of colour. The images feel like a place where someone can shed expectation, step into the light, and let it reshape them from the inside out.
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