Black Female Fashion Photographers

Being a black woman in the photography community or industry can be, like most other arenas, a tricky place to navigate. Once you break it down further into the many different genres, you will find that certain areas seem to be more difficult than others. In my area of expertise, fashion editorial and commercial photography, there aren’t many black women. This is likely for the same reason that you don’t see very many of us on the other side of the camera either. Race plays a factor in all parts of this industry, no matter what role you have in it.

For example, if you were to take a look at some of the major photography based companies and their list of ambassadors, you’d find exactly what I mean when I speak on the lack of representation of black women. I went through three major companies’ ambassador lineup, and there was not a single black woman in any of their programs. Keep in mind that there were only searches for photography in general, so once again imagine if that search was narrowed down to only include fashion and commercial. This very blatant lack of representation tells me that either we aren’t out there or that we aren’t being heard and appreciated in the manner we should be.

When looking at my own circle of photographer friends I found that there weren’t very many black women that shoot fashion and commercial, which is disheartening to say the least. I decided to make an effort to find some amazingly talented black women and compile a list of them – I was not let down. There was so much talent amongst these few women and I could hardly wait to share this list.

I believe that we can all help shift things in this industry. One way of doing that is by creating a space for marginalized voices, amplifying those voices in a very tangible way by doing things like having them first on a referral list, or creating a network so that they can form a community amongst themselves. Having support and being able to relate to your peers is a strong tool to have while navigating any profession as a marginalized person.

This list will hopefully serve in a way in which our submissions list did, in that it is a directory of sorts for those that are seeking professional fashion and commercial photographers, for a gig or even just to have a community. This list is made up of one the most underrepresented group of people in the fashion editorial and commercial photography professions: black women !!
I hope that this list is of some value to you all as it certainly has been for us. The ladies listed on this list are either currently working in these genres or show fabulous promise and potential.

Article written by Brittney Taylor

Djeneba Aduayom
www.djeneba-aduayom.com
https://www.instagram.com/djenebaaduayom