Lebanese-born American photographer Rania Matar often draws inspiration for her photographic series from her perspective as a mother, watching her children grow. During her daughters’ teenage years, she began the series “A Girl in Her Room,” an exploration of the passage from girlhood to adulthood through photographs of young women in their bedrooms. After her daughters left home for college and jobs, Matar embarked on the project “SHE,” which focuses on twenty-something women navigating the outside world.

While photographing the young woman on the shoreline in Rayven, Miami Beach, Florida, Matar recalls being “fascinated by her [Rayven’s] majestic presence.” Rayven remains meditative amid an impending storm, her wind-tossed blond curls gleaming. Key elements of the portraits in this series include Matar’s striking depictions of silken, flowing hair, as well as her sitters’ distinctive individual features.

Matar’s acute awareness of the relationships between women and the spaces they inhabit stems from her background in architecture. She says of her collaborative and intuitive practice, “I go to the photo session with a blank slate and work with the person and the environment in front of me. . . . I want each woman to feel that she has agency and is part of that process.”