Caffeine & Confidence: A Morning in the Cristina Stoian Portraits Studio

It’s 9:30 A.M. at the studio loft at Cristina Stoian Portraits. The crew is still adjusting the window lights, casting a honeyed glow over the distressed white walls. An assistant—hired just for the morning—works quietly in the corner, the hiss of the coffee machine cutting through the murmur of pre-shoot chatter. The air smells of freshly ground coffee, dark and rich, the kind that kicks your senses awake.
Two stylists orbit you, one dabbing a last bit of highlighter along your cheekbones, the other fussing with the drape of your blazer. The photographer, a brisk girl in all black, scrolls through test shots on her camera, nodding to herself. You take a slow sip from the blue porcelain cup—black, no sugar—feeling the caffeine hit your veins like a jolt of quiet confidence.
Outside, the city is still shaking off its dawn haze. But in here, under the heat of the window lights, everything is sharp, deliberate. The stylist steps back, satisfied. The photographer lifts her head. “Alright,” she says, raising the camera. “Let’s make them look twice.”
You set the coffee down, square your shoulders, and turn toward the lens — ready.