GET IT TOGETHER: A PHOTOBOOK BY CHAYANEE CHOEDSUK
Chayanee Choedsuk is a young photographer from Nakhon Sawan whose work quietly captures the intimate, unspoken moments of women her age as they navigate the blurred edges between girlhood and adulthood.
Her first photobook, Get It Together, is a deeply personal collection of portraits. Each one appears simple, yet layered with emotion, memory, and trust. The women she photographs aren’t professional models but friends, friends of friends, or people she’s connected with through Instagram. They are often shy or uncertain in front of the camera, which are the qualities Chayanee wants to emphasize. “That awkwardness, that imperfection, it’s beautiful. We don’t have to look perfect all the time.”
Chayanee often photographs them in their bedrooms, personal spaces, or places tied to private memories. She opens each session not with instruction, but with invitation, reminding them it’s not a photoshoot. It’s just two friends taking pictures together. That quiet offering of safety shifts the tone, making space for something more honest to emerge. “Once I share a bit of my own story, it’s like something opens up. Suddenly we’re not just making photos. We're sharing something.” That spirit of mutual trust defines her entire process. She lets the moment lead and that same intuitive approach shaped the book itself. There’s no fixed structure. Some images are connected by color, some by mood, or simply by instinct. Some pages are left blank intentionally, so the image that follows carries more emotional weight.
One of the most tender moments she remembered was when a friend agreed to pose for a portrait that leaned toward nudity, which is something she had never done before. When asked why she agreed, she simply said, “I just wanted to remember what my body looked like at 24.” That answer stayed with Chayanee. It was a simple and honest reminder that we all, at one time or another, wish to hold onto a fleeting moment, to freeze a version of oneself before time and life reshape it. “I hope this book helps us feel proud of our bodies at a certain age, in their natural state,” Chayanee says.
Looking back on the process, Chayanee reflects on her own place, standing on the edge of adulthood. “It feels like 8 a.m.,” she says. “There’s still cool air in the room. I haven’t stepped out yet, but I know I have to.” There’s pressure, she admits, to move, to become, to define yourself before you’re ready. “It’s okay to wait until you are ready. It’s okay to be still for a while.” She hopes that five years from now, she’ll still remember what it felt like to be 21;the dreams, the ambition, the brightness. She hopes growing up doesn’t make her feel lonely.
After looking through her images, I found myself remembering my own youth. The rawness, the vulnerability, the ache of feeling misunderstood in a world that felt too big, too new, and completely chaotic. The photographs in Get It Together are exactly that, yet somehow soft and comforting. Chayanee has captured something achingly beautiful. The fragile tenderness of becoming someone. A moment in time where you feel that you must leave some parts of yourself behind, when you feel everything all at once and yet don’t have the words for any of it. It’s a quiet reminder that even in those moments of confusion, we were never really alone.
