Social media provides creatives with access and connection to others in the industry and their work, presenting an unlimited stream of knowledge and inspiration at our fingertips. In this Follow Friday, we’re featuring Black creatives in the Sony Artisans of Imagery and Sony Alpha Imaging Collective programs who are shaping the worlds of photography and video with their inspiring work. Follow these visual story tellers on Instagram and see why their creative voices rise above.
Fill your Instagram feed with these creative voices. Give them a follow and get ready to be inspired.
Endia Beal – @endiabeal
Sony Artisan Endia Beal is an artist, speaker, educator and author. Through her photography and videography she works to reveal the often overlooked experiences unique to people of color. Performance Review, her first monograph, brings together work from first-hand experiences that highlight the realities and challenges for women of color in the corporate workplace. You can purchase the book here. Follow her on Instagram for more thoughtful posts and stories in your feed.
Tomayia Colvin, EdD – @tomayiacolvin
Tomayia Colvin, EdD is a Sony Artisan who creates educational platforms and safe spaces for Black and photographers of color. She founded Tomayia Colvin Education, an online learning platform that gives photographers of color an opportunity to gain momentum and experience in education and speaking. She also founded The Photo Cookout, the first photography conference for Black photographers. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her work and for more information on the courses she provides to help you start and grow your photography business.
Jermaine Horton – @jermainehortonphotography
Sony Artisan Jermaine Horton is a Chicago-based wedding, portrait and sports photographer. He’s also the president and founder of @theartofconfidenceproject, a photo project that empowers and restores the confidence of our youth. His passion for telling others' stories has garnered him clients throughout the country and his sense of humor makes him a fun one in the industry to follow. Want to learn from Horton himself? He has an upcoming lighting workshop on March 26 that you can learn register for here.
Kesha Lambert – @keshalambert
Sony Artisan Kesha Lambert is an international wedding and portrait photographer based in New York. Her fascination with visual storytelling and love has inspired her photography career with a focus in weddings. Not only does she post compelling creative content on her Instagram, she's also the leading wedding photographer on TikTok @keshaloveshats.
Eli Reed – @elireedmagnum
Sony Artisan Eli Reed is a photojournalist with a career in the industry that has spanned over five decades. He was the first Black photographer to join the legendary photo collective Magnum Photos in 1982 and he is a Clinical Professor of Photojournalism at the University of Texas at Austin. He continues to shoot photojournalism projects all over the world. Learn more about the legendary photojournalist in the video below and see more of his work here.
Dennis Cacho – @denn_ice
Bronx-based Dennis Cacho is a photographer and member of the Sony Alpha Imaging Collective. His street photography captures the raw authenticity of the moments happening in front of him, and you can see more of his galleries here. Follow him to see what he captures on the streets of the Big Apple next.
Temi Coker – @temi.coker
Temi Coker is a multidisciplinary artist based in Dallas, Texas. The Alpha Collective member incorporates colorful digital artistry into his photography, resulting in richly unique creations unlike anything you’ve seen before. This month he's teamed up with @oldnavy PROJECT WE along with fellow artists @destinydarcel and @loharris_art to imagine a more inclusive future through art and celebrate Black History Month with some beautiful T-shirt designs. Learn more about the shirt and how to purchase in his post below and shop for his prints here.
Gina Danza – @wildgina
Alpha Collective member Gina Danza is a photographer specializing in intimate landscapes. She gets up-close with nature, turning it into beautiful art that touches your emotions and makes you better connected. She is the top-selling Black landscape photographer and works hard to celebrate other Black artists too. Check out her incredible prints for purchase here.
Humza Deas – @humzadeas
Alpha Collective member Humza Deas is a skateboarder and videographer based in New York City. He captures the incredible density of architecture found in the Big Apple, and you can shop his collections here. Follow his Instagram to see the some of the most prominent buildings of the City from angles and perspectives you never have before.
Terrence Drysdale – @tjdrysdale
Terrence Drysdale is a Florida-based professional portrait, fine art and fashion photographer and member of the Alpha Collective. His imagery combines photography and art to create fairytale-like portraits that will make your imagination run. Follow him on Instagram to see more of the otherworldly images he creates and posts. You can purchase his Lightroom Presets and Photoshop tutorials in his Digital Store.
Mic-Anthony Hay – @micanthony_
Alpha Collective member Mic-Anthony Hay is based in New York City. He uses his Sony Alpha camera to capture short videos of the city, snow or shine. The videos immediately transport you to the Big Apple, as if you’re standing on the sidewalk yourself. On this Instagram account he shares behind-the-scenes looks at his filming setup, and you can find even more from his video series on his TikTok @micanthony.
Steven Irby – @stevesweatpants
Alpha Collective member Steven Irby is a street photographer based in New York City and the founder of @streetdreamsmag. He captures authentic moments around the city and posts them in black and white on his Instagram feed. The black and white provides a contrast that brings out even more of the rawness of the moment, making his work as authentic as it gets.
Dane Isaac – @dane.isaac
Dane Isaac is a New York City-based commercial, portrait and street photographer who focuses on the usage of light and storytelling. The Alpha Collective member has most recently been posting segmented portraits on his Instagram account, like in the post below. He initially developed his segmented series as a challenge to himself to capture the essence of his subjects via different sections of their bodies. The collection has grown so he released it as a randomized collectible NFT series with unique functionality to interactively experience these sections and portraits. See more from his segmented series here.
Joshua Kissi – @joshuakissi
Alpha Collective member Joshua Kissi is a photographer and director based in Los Angeles. He creates inspiring and colorful portraits of Black people as a visual way to tell more Black stories. He recently photographed Lupita Nyongo for Saks Spring 2022 Campaign which you can see in his post below - follow him to see what impressive work he produces next. Joshua is also one of the founders of TONL, a stock photo agency "to challenge the stale, homogenous look of traditional stock photography by showcasing the many ethnic backgrounds of every day people." See more about TONL here.
Greg Noire – @gregnoire
Greg Noire is a live music and portrait photographer. If you scroll through his Instagram account, you’ll immediately see his talent for composing and snapping a photo at just the right moment. The Alpha Collective member's incredible captures of musicians in action are unique and stand out from the rest. Follow him for more. You can also get Greg's black and white pandi pack presets here.
Tobi Shinobi – @tobishinobi
Chicago-based photographer and Alpha Collective member Tobi Shinobi specializes in street and architecture photography. He creatively uses symmetry, angles and lines to capture buildings and spaces in new ways. You can find more of his work in his book, Equilibrium, available for purchase here. Follow him to see more of the city’s sites from interesting views.
Shauna Wade – @so.shauna
Shauna Wade is a travel, lifestyle and street photographer in New York/New Jersey and the founder of @moodygrams and @moodyports. Her Instagram feed is filled with moody images from her travels and street ventures. The Alpha Collective member has an ability to turn seemingly normal scenes into an interesting photograph you’ll love to look at, like the one in her post below. Follow her for more of her work.
