8 Black Female Photographers to Watch in 2024

During Black History Month, we asked Black Women Photographers' founder Polly Irungu to spotlight the work of creatives from their platform.

Black History Month (BHM) is an annual observance that originated in the United States, dedicated to acknowledging people and events associated with the history and heritage of the African diaspora. This year we renewed our connection with Polly Irungu, the founder of Black Women Photographers, to discover and celebrate black female creatives. Founded in 2020, BWP is a global community, directory, and hub of over 2,100 Black women and non-binary identifying photographers, spanning over 60+ countries and 35+ U.S. states. Their mission is offer support in every stage of their professional development through free access to educational programming, portfolio reviews, grants, and photo meet-ups, to provide tangible support with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for a long-lasting and successful career in this industry.

Farren van Wyk

Farren van Wyk is a South African and Dutch photographer and mentor. She graduated from the University of Arts in 2016, receiving her BA degree in photography after an extensive visual project with (ex-)gang members in the South African colored community in her hometown, Port Elizabeth. This project is shifting towards an ongoing exploration into the history of colored communities, of which Farren herself is a member. She has lived in The Netherlands for over twenty years, and her dual nationality is the crux of her work.

April Alexander

Since falling in love with photography whilst visiting Cape Town, South Africa, April Alexander has continued to have a spirited desire for creative self-expression through portraiture, commercial, and fashion photography. Alexander's unique viewpoint enables her to guide her clients in the best possible way, enabling them to feel confident and relaxed in their own skin.

Bre Johnson

Bre Johnson is a photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work specializes in editorial, fashion, and commercial photography. As a self-taught photographer, Johnson has been able to tell captivating stories around the world.

Ebun Lauren Andu

Ebun Lauren Andu is a passionate photographer based in Manchester and London. She has a background in Architecture, with a first degree in Architecture from Birmingham City University and from the Manchester School of Architecture. Andu's passion for photography has enabled her to transform ideas into captivating visual stories, helping clients bring their visions to life. A natural light approach on location and with lighting in the studio creates her flattering and beautiful images. 

Alexandra Obochi

Alexandra Obochi is a multidisciplinary creative based in Abuja, Nigeria. Most days, Obochi creates beauty, fashion, and lifestyle Afrocentric creative content. On other days, she doubles as a professional photographer, creative director, and makeup artist. As a queer artist and fashion brand owner, Obochi is passionate about creating inclusive, gender-fluid fashion and work.

Kourtney Iman

Kourtney Iman is a photographer and creative director based in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently attends the Savannah College of Art and Design, pursuing her MFA, focusing on fine arts. As a multidisciplinary creative, she focuses on the overall notions of Black life with an effort to highlight and aid underrepresented creatives.

Tola Olawale

Tola Olawale is a photographer and creative director currently based in Houston, Texas. Olawale specializes in portrait, documentary, editorial, and music photography. Her personal works are an attempt to explore different facets of her identity and feed her cultural curiosity. New to the photography world, Olawale seeks to expand to other creative mediums eventually. "I'm excited to grow, learn, build, and see where my camera takes me."

Schaun Champion

Schaun Champion is an artist-photographer, director of photography, and instructor specializing in natural light, portraiture, fine art, and cultural documentary/archival work. She creates intentionally cinematic and honest imagery using digital and analog cameras. Inspired by classic films, music, and all things vintage, her intention is to use themes of nature, diversity, and nostalgia to illustrate the drama within the familiar.

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Polly Irungu is a multimedia journalist, digital editor, self-taught photographer and founder of Black Women Photographers. As a photographer, Polly’s work has been published in numerous publications, including BBC News, NPR, Refinery29, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, CNN, HuffPost, OkayPlayer, OkayAfrica, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Black Women Photographers aims to disrupt the notion that it is difficult to discover and commission black creatives. Launched in July of 2020 by Polly Irungu, Black Women Photographers (BWP) is a global community of over 1,000 active members from around the world. Through honest dialogue via social conversations and workshops, the platform seeks to ensure that more Black women and non-binary photographers are empowered to make the industry as colorful as it ought to be. Doing so by supporting their members through online and in-person exhibitions, events, webinars, educational programs, and annual grant funds with Nikon Inc, as well as sharing and promoting their work in an active database of photo editors, directors, curators, and art buyers.

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This article is part of the work PhMuseum has started to support and promote underrepresented photographers as well as reignite the debate on gender and racial equality in our industry. Our dedicated initiatives include an annual Grant and several collaborations such as our online exhibition in partnership with MFON and BWP, a work that has included also the Prize in collaboration with African Artists’ Foundation.

We're always working to improve our knowledge of projects from under-represented photographers in the industry. If you are a photographer or artist please do create a free PhMuseum account and upload your projects. You can also get in touch with us at support@phmuseum.com