illustration on About page of Photos by Romina Missoula Montana portrait photographer

RETURNING

The moment she stops thinking about how she looks and just exists. The wind picks up and her hair goes everywhere and she stops trying to fix it. She's standing in cold water laughing because it's freezing. She looks out at the landscape and forgets I'm even there.

That's what I'm waiting for – when the armor comes off and something real comes through.

There's so much beauty in a woman who feels safe enough to just be. Alive in her body, present in the world, not shrinking or performing or apologizing for taking up space.

That's what I want to give you. Not just beautiful photos, though they will be beautiful. But proof that the realest version of you is also the most magnetic one.

Self portrait of woman in deep red wrap dress standing against rocks with black and white forest background, bold fine art portrait photography by Missoula Montana photographer
A woman smiling and taking a selfie with a large tan and white dog in a snowy forest.

My ride or die Ruby. She comes everywhere with me.

I grew up not feeling seen.

Not in a simple way – in the way that quietly shapes how you move through the world for years without realizing it. I learned early to make myself smaller. To protect myself. To show up as a version of me that felt safer than the real one.

I moved countries. Survived things. Got lost somewhere along the way. And photography, almost by accident, became how I found my way back.

Not by hiding behind a camera. By slowly learning it was safe to step in front of one.

Growing up in the Austrian countryside gave me a love for wild, open landscapes that never left me. There's something about being in nature – really in it, untouched and enormous, that cuts through everything. I feel it most on Mt Sentinel, overlooking the Missoula valley with mountains in every direction. Something ancient and grounding happens there. Like my body remembers something it forgot. Pure presence. Pure joy. Happy tears I didn't see coming.

That feeling is what I chase in every session.

Nature doesn't care if you're performing. It just holds you. And something about being in wild, open places has a way of stripping everything back until the real you is the only one left standing.

That's who I'm here to photograph.

I'm self-taught and photography always felt intuitive, like something I was always meant to do. I love the creative side of this work deeply. Having a concept and watching it come to life never gets old. But underneath all of that is something simpler: I know what it costs to keep yourself hidden. And I know what's waiting on the other side.

That's the gift. And I want it for you too.

Let's make art that feels like you.

Self portrait of woman in red dress standing alone on a frozen lake at winter sunset facing the horizon with snow covered forest behind her, fine art empowerment photography by Missoula Montana photographer.
Self portrait of woman in red dress standing alone on a frozen lake at winter sunset facing the horizon with snow covered forest behind her, fine art empowerment photography by Missoula Montana photographer.

I still do this work for myself too.

You'll find self-portraits scattered throughout this website – because this isn't just something I offer, it's something I live.

Self portrait of woman in black dress standing in Seeley Lake Montana with snow capped mountains and autumn forest reflected behind her, wild nature photography by Missoula Montana photographer
Self portrait of woman standing alone in a foggy dry grass field with arms crossed in moody atmospheric light, artistic photography by Missoula Montana photographer
Self portrait of woman in red dress surrounded by yellow arrowleaf balsamroot wildflowers under a ponderosa pine at Rattlesnake Wilderness Missoula Montana, female empowerment photography by Missoula photographer
Self portrait of woman in red dress surrounded by yellow arrowleaf balsamroot wildflowers under a ponderosa pine at Rattlesnake Wilderness Missoula Montana, female empowerment photography by Missoula photographer

"The purpose of life is to find your gift, but the meaning of life is to give it away."

– Pablo Picasso

Self portrait of woman spinning fire under the Milky Way galaxy on a dark Montana night, long exposure fine art photography by Missoula Montana photographer
Self portrait of woman spinning fire under the Milky Way galaxy on a dark Montana night, long exposure fine art photography by Missoula Montana photographer
Self portrait of woman in red dress standing in a foggy moody forest, atmospheric fine art nature photography by Montana photographer
Self portrait of woman in red dress standing in a foggy moody forest, atmospheric fine art nature photography by Montana photographer
Long exposure self portrait of woman sitting on mossy rocks in PNW creek surrounded by flowing water and pine forest, fine art nature photography by Missoula Montana photographer
Long exposure self portrait of woman sitting on mossy rocks in PNW creek surrounded by flowing water and pine forest, fine art nature photography by Missoula Montana photographer

I'm Romi and this is a little about me // Grew up in Austria, lived in Ireland, Texas, and the PNW before landing in Missoula - every place left something in me // As a kid I was raiding closets for dress-up and shooting my friends with a film camera - some things never change // Growing up my parents played a lot of 70s and 80s Euro disco. I had no choice and now I have impeccable taste // Dancing is partly a spiritual practice for me - getting into my body is how I come back to myself // I love poetry. The kind that makes you stop and read it again // I believe in the healing power of the earth and the interconnectedness of all things // Artsy, a bit goofy, will make you feel totally at ease // Most days you can find me frolicking somewhere outside with my pup Ruby // I love cake. Especially chocolate cream pie // Based in Missoula but give me a magical location anywhere and I'm there //

Motion blur self portrait of woman crouching in dry grass on Mt Sentinel hillside with a lone pine tree and Montana landscape behind her, fine art nature photography by Missoula Montana photographer.

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