Beauty. Story. Truth.
I'm Helena Staniszewska - most people call me Hela.
I’m a portrait and personal branding photographer based in Barcelona. I work with founders, executives, and experts who want their visual presence to actually match the level of what they do.
Before photography, I spent years in banking. I’ve lived in Warsaw, Prague, Paris, and Barcelona. I know what it means to build something from scratch, in a foreign country, in a foreign language, and to need people to trust you before they’ve ever met you in person. That’s exactly what a photograph has to do: buy you that trust before the first conversation even happens.
Most of my clients are women: entrepreneurs, founders, specialists. Often in the middle of a transition: a new market, a new role, a new chapter. They reach out when they realize their current photos no longer represent who they’ve become. What they say, usually: „I don’t know how to show up online” Or simply: My LinkedIn doesn’t look like me at all” and usually: „I’m not easy to photograph well” and sometimes even „I hate every photo of me”. What we do together: figure out how they actually want to be seen and build images around that.
This is not about creating a polished version of someone. It’s not about aesthetics for their own sake. A photograph is a communication tool. It either works for your business or it doesn’t. My job is to make sure it works, that it carries the right message, to the right people, in the right context. I photograph the person you already are. Not a character. Not a brand persona. You, with intention.
I believe beauty isn't decoration, it's the clarity of knowing who you are. That story, the path you've taken, the choices you've made, is what makes your presence mean something. And truth is the daily decision to show up as yourself, not as who you think you're supposed to be.
This is what I look for in every person I photograph. And almost always it’s already there.
Based in Barcelona. Working in Paris and Poland.
My Vision
I imagine a world where women no longer apologize for being seen.
Where beauty is not a filter, a mask, or a definition — but a tool for clarity, self-trust, and impact.
I want my clients to feel proud of how they look, how they show up in their business — and proud of who they already are.
Because the moment we stop trying to prove something and start communicating with purpose, everything shifts.
My Mission
I make photographs — but what I really do is help people see themselves with new eyes.
Many of my clients come to me unsure of how to present themselves. They say things like:
"I don’t know how to show up online."
"I hate every photo of me."
"I don’t even know what my brand looks like."
Through portraiture and conversation, we change that.
Together, we create a visual identity that feels right — aligned, honest, strong — and designed to grow with the business they’re building.
My Ambition
I’m amazed by women’s entrepreneurship — and by how often I still hear women asking for permission: to exist, to claim their space, to own their stage.
I hear apologies for how they look, who they are, how they show up — like they need to be someone else to succeed.
I want more of us to stop shrinking and stand tall, feel powerful.. To use visibility not as a performance, but as a tool to take up the space we already belong in — with with clarity and intention.
When I hear, Thist finally feels like me,” or “I see myself as a businesswoman for the first time,” I know the shift has happened — and I did my job.
Because mindset is everything when you’re an entrepreneur and that’s what drives me.
