News + Features

10 ‘Black Women Photographers’ to Follow on IG

August 19, 2022

By Brienne Walsh

© Liam Woods
Want to celebrate World Photography Day in a meaningful way? We suggest following this list of Black women and non-binary photographers from all over the world, curated by 'Black Women Photographers' founder Polly Irungu.
© Liam Woods
"Wonderful" by Liam Woods.
© Alisa Speese
"My Name is Panamá" is an ongoing personal project by Alisa Speese exploring mountain, beach, and city life in the isthmus of Panamá. The work relies on an intersection of street and documentary techniques and reflects unique interpretations of the culture and lifestyle of Panamanian peoples.
© Sherie Margaret Ngigi
From the series "Mimi Ni Nani Introspection I". Says photographer Sherie Margaret Ngigi: "Experience and memory calcify into the spine of who we are, but the uncertainty of the future often shakes up our sense of stability. When a crisis occurs, the first thing we do is pull ourselves to the familiar, looking for some healing, psychological, emotional or spiritual...."
© Ololade Lawal
A candid photograph of Ololade Lawal's sister-in-law, Yems, and her niece, Tiwa that expresses familiar themes of "motherhood, ordinary moments, intimacy, influenced by the possibilities of how simple moments such as the captured could create memories and feelings within motherhood that are rarely documented."
© Clara Watt
"Bernadette & Nicholas' Feet": Bernadette is one of the seven supervisors overseeing that the girls at Les Foyers de Tambacounda are healthy and happy. She lives there with her son Nicholas, who is named after the founder of Le Korsa, Nicolas Fox Weber. Senegal 2022.
© Kate Sterlin
Funeral, Los Angeles, 2001. "I like to tell stories," says Sterlin. "The stories that happen in a moment, an expression, an arrangement of form and composition, of thought and communication from both sides of the camera. I try to be close to that story and somehow capture it undisturbed—to frame the ordinary moments that tell a personal narrative, an intimate portrait."
© Gracie Hammond
© Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah
From an ongoing project called, "The Homecoming Journey: Home" by Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah.
© DeLovie Kwagala
From "The Quingdom - In Transition" series by DeLovie Kwagala.
© Tobi Sobowale
Photo of Sindy Ofori, from Tobi Sobowale's series "ENDS", 2022.

When Polly Irungu started the online collective Black Women Photographers (BWP) in July of 2020, she did so with the intention of getting more Black and non-binary women hired in the photography industry. She also wanted to raise the profile of Black women in general, who have long been underrepresented in most professional communities, including photography. Today, BWP includes over 1,000 members in 50 different countries. With that in mind, what better way to celebrate World Photography Day—which takes place today, Friday, August 19—than to follow Black women and non-binary photographers from all over the world?

To get you started, Irungu recommends these ten BWP members you should follow, and hire, immediately.

10 MEMBERS OF ‘BLACK WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS’ TO FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:

1. Liam Woods

Location: Los Angeles/New York

@analoguepapi

A Black trans photographer, Liam Woods aims to celebrate radiant diversity and marginalized people. First taking up photography as a hobby, Woods caught the attention of editors at GirlGaze through Instagram, and has since been hired by The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and Apple, among many other clients. Follow them because their portraits, utilizing bright colors and a feeling of intimacy, evoke joy.


2. Alisa Speese

Location: Panama

@memusetoo

A street photographer working out of Panama, Alisa Speese’s photographs are redolent of the sophistication and timelessness of compositions by Henri Cartier Bresson. Entirely self-taught, Speese first began showing her photographs in 2019 after a long career as a management consultant expert.


3. Sherie Margaret Ngigi

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

@sherie_margaret_ngigi

Sheri Margaret Ngigi is a Nairobi-based fine-art photographer whose work is informed by her own journey, and the journey of other women, raised in Kenyan society. Represented by AKKA Project, an art gallery based in Venice, Italy, and Dubai, Ngigi explores topics that are taboo in her country including the constraint women feel in traditional marriages, and the prioritization of family over self-development.


4. Ololade Lawal

Location: Lagos, Nigeria

@l4wl4h

After studying mass communication at Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Ololade Lawal discovered a passion for photography. In her work, she aims to capture the mundane aspects of life in Nigeria with a more encompassing perspective than is often seen in the West.


5. Clara Watt

Location: London, England

@clarawattt

A Senegalese-Canadian documentary photographer and visual artist, Clara Watt explores issues including racial discrimination and gender in her photography. A recent project captures women and girls living in Les Foyers de Tambacounda, a boarding house in Senegal that enables girls to leave their villages and attend school.


6. Kate Sterlin

Location: Los Angeles, California

@kate_sterlin

Deeply personal, Kate Sterlin’s work began with portraits she took of her father and evolved from there. “I try to be close to that story and somehow capture it undisturbed — to frame the ordinary moments that tell a personal narrative, an intimate portrait,” she says. Entire novels are seemingly encompassed in each of Sterlin’s complex rich images, which among other places, have been published in The New York Times, Vogue and The Atlantic.


7. Gracie Hammond

Location: Chicago, Illinois

@graciehammondphotography

Some of Gracie Hammond’s earliest memories include running around with a disposable camera. Today, she takes editorial photographs that project the sort of glamour exuded by starlets such as Beyonce.


8. Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah

Location: Lomé, Togo; Cotonou, Bénin; and Paris (France)

@anouchka.agbayissah

A self-taught photographer born and currently living in Paris, France, Anouchka Ophélie Agbayissah has roots in Benin, Togo and Ghana. Her work, a combination of portraiture and documentary photography, aims to document “the spiritual, emotional, and physical reconnection to home and heritage.”


9. DeLovie Kwagala

Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

@aconstantbecoming

Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, DeLovie Kwagala is a self-taught photographer who identifies as non-binary and queer. In their work, they explore narratives around identity, belonging and gender. In doing so, they avoid sexualizing, fetishizing and stigmatizing their subjects. Among other things, their work exemplifies truly masterful lighting.


10. Tobi Sobowale (SHOBO)

Location: London, England

@shobo_photography

After receiving her bachelor and master’s degrees in architecture, Tobi Sobowale pivoted to photography. Her work aims to capture the quieter and more complex expressions of people, especially Black women, who are often depicted as merely strong. A recent project, “ENDS,” captures models interacting with the shared spaces in the council estate in South-East London where Sobowale grew up and still lives.

Looking for more creativity and inspiration on World Photography Day? Read about how and why Polly Irungu founded the Black Women Photographers network two years ago and where it’s headed today:

Black Women Photographers’ Polly Irungu on Growth


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