Each portrait Kristi Elias creates is a unique work of art that is relevant and appropriate to its subject. Last year, Elias won a Sunset Print Award at the Professional Photographers of California state competition for You Won’t Bully Me, a grungy portrait of a young martial arts competitor.

Kristi Elias’ fine art portrait photography transports her subjects through space and time to capture the essence of their personality or to emphasize their vocation or passion. The five-year-old subject of this Sunset Print Award winner is competitive in martial arts, so Elias sent him underground and created an image that exudes toughness. Entitled You Won’t Bully Me, the print scored a 91 at the Professional Photographers of California annual state competition. It’s a show-stopping image that grabbed the judges’ attention. “It has impact because it’s shocking. You don’t expect to see a kid looking that tough at that age in what is clearly a rough urban underground area,” says Elias. “I cropped into the top of his head to give it more of a forced perspective, which makes him look tougher. The overall color palette I used also portrays aggression and toughness, which is what I was going for.” Photographed in Kristi Sutton Elias Photography’s waterfront studio in Long Beach,...