Betina Du Toit's naturally-beautiful images are “stripped back from the non-essential”

Few photographers present such a consistent portfolio than that of Paris-based Betina Du Toit. Bouncing between studio shots and landscapes, Betina’s images capture a variety of ethereal women. Tones of blue, green, brown and orange provide visual succinctness to her work, locking her subjects in what appears to be never-ending autumn. Groups of girls lounge beneath trees or plunge themselves in rivers but no matter what the location; Betina draws out a natural and effortless beauty in each of her subjects, tying them to their surroundings.

Originally from a small town “nestled between the mountains called Wellington, a 45-minute drive outside of Cape Town, South Africa,” Betina began her career as a journalist. After working for several major publications, she turned back to the camera – a medium which she has always been drawn to and which now takes up her full attention in her adopted home in Paris.

“It kind of came to me,” she explains of her start into the photographic world, “as a child I remember being drawn in by a Kodak pocket camera I won in a local colouring competition. After working in publishing for a while, and a few serendipitous encounters I started focusing on what I already knew I loved the most.”

Now Betina spends her time shooting editorials for the likes of Nylon and V Magazine, while also working with brands such as Chanel and Dior. No matter what the project, however, she considers her practice an “endless attempt to re-capture the fleeting moment when all elements come together”, driven by the need “to capture a feeling. The magic moment. It’s addictive,” she tells It’s Nice That.

Always working in an intuitive and intimate way, Betina’s process is instrumental in building what has become her signature aesthetic. She responds to her subjects and their environments, resulting in “unaffected” imagery, “stripped back from the non-essential”. Whether shot on location or well-lit by studio lights, Betina’s photographs highlight tender moments of female relationships, unveiling idiosyncratic charm and allure in each of her sitters.