Happy Pride Month! Join us in exploring the authentic stories, powerful visuals, and the celebration of love and individuality through these 7 thought-provoking photography projects.
For this year’s Pride Month Special, we invite you to discover the power of visual storytelling through a collection of remarkable images from 7 talented photographers within our creative Cherrydeck community.
From joyful moments to profound stories, these photography projects encapsulate the spirit of Pride, shedding light on the diverse experiences and perspectives within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Celebrate love, acceptance and empowerment with us as we cover the following Pride photography projects:
• ‘Still Pride’ by Clotilde Petrosino
• ‘Contemporary Muses’ by Kameliya Stoeva
• ‘IDENTITY’ by Carlota Leitao
• ‘Sapphic Lovers’ by Lea Michaelis
• ‘HeSheWho’ by Katrina Tang
• ‘To the Boys I’ve Seen’ by Nkateko Mondhlana
• ‘P.A.R.T.Y’ by Nils Rossi
Enjoy!
Still Pride
“I’m a non-binary artist and photographer. I mostly work in fashion and documentary photography. In my personal project, I document the LGBTQIA+ community in an intimate, fair, and unbiased way. My goal is to change the narrative of our bodies and our stories not only in the art field but also in advertising, fashion, and commercial photography. Soon after the end of the first covid-19 lockdown, I ideated the project ‘Still Pride’ for GQ Italy.
Lockdown was very hard for a lot of people, there had been a rise of violence against minorities. Many young people in the community were forced to stay home with their families, which is not always safe. In 2020, the Pride Parade in Italy had been canceled, that’s why I came up with the idea of making a fashion documentary editorial for GQ Italy.
I portrayed 13 people, part of the community, and asked them to share their thoughts about Pride month. I partnered with fashion stylist and producer Alessia Caliendo, hair stylist Giampaolo Gori, and make-up artists Carla Curione and Eleonora Juglair. With the support of the whole team, we managed to portray 13 people in less than 3 days. The whole project was a success. It brought a lot of awareness not only in the city of Milan but also in the whole Italian community.”
Clotilde Petrosino is a non-binary Fashion & Documentary Photographer, based in Milan, Italy. They are also a Freelance Photographer for i-D Italy. Check out more of their work on Cherrydeck, and their website.
Contemporary Muses
“Contemporary Muses is a fashion story with two Parisian drag queens – Dolly Page and Paloma (as of today the first French queen winner of the TV show Drag Race). It explores the love and compassion inside the community and at the same time it addresses the struggles of being accepted outside of it.”
Kameliya Stoeva is a professional photographer Fashion, Beauty, and Fine Arts Photographer based in Paris, France. Explore more her work on Cherrydeck, or her website.
IDENTITY “Vitor Fernandes / Natasha Semmynova”
“The project was born from a proposal to photographically develop the theme Identities. I decided to photograph a Drag Queen known for its emblematic shows of gay nightlife in Porto (Moinho de Vento, Boys “R” Us Club, Pride Bar, among others), in an attempt to demonstrate that a person can have two identities, one without prejudice to the other, in order to demystify the stigma around a Drag Queen. Two months following Vitor’s life allowed me to represent 24 hours of his daily routine. The images follow a linear sequential exposure, with the last one taking us back to the first, returning to the initial cycle.”
Carlota Leitao is a Portuguese photographer specialized in Documentary and Commercial Photography. She is currently based in Porto, Portugal. Check out more of her work on Cherrydeck, or her website.
Sapphic Lovers
“This project represents the diversity of lesbian and Sapphic couples, through the meeting of almost fifty of them. These romances have neither model nor standard (they do not only concern young, white, cisgender, able-bodied people, etc.), they are plural and singular and unfold in all spaces, in cities as well as in campaigns.
It is particularly a question of making visible the couples far from the big cities, where it is sometimes more difficult to meet and identify as belonging to a community. To photograph the intimate, in the private sphere, but also the presence of these couples in the public space (during lesbian demonstrations, for example).
The goal of this project is to create an archive, through a concerned look, and to keep track of these loves that exist in a society where heterosexuality is over-represented. The interviews with each of the couples are complementary to the photo work so that the project as a whole embodies their stories and their identities.”
Lea Michaelis is a professional Editorial & Documentary photographer based in Paris, France. She also works as a freelance photojournalist and has been featured in multiple publications. Explore more of her work on Cherrydeck, or her website.
HeSheWho
By Katrina Tang, featuring an extraordinary artist – Fabio, who goes by the artist name HeSheWho.
“We met a few weeks back in a vintage store where he works and his unique personality immediately inspired me. Fabio has this amazing ability to seamlessly switch between male and female characters, understanding them deeply, and presenting them with incredible style. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. In the short time we chatted, I understood that he has a world of characters living within him that he loves to explore. This sparked a deep inspiration within me, setting us on the path of a creative journey together. […] After a few intense days of prep and loads of excitement, we’ve crafted this series I’m presenting to you now.
Fabio was inspired by a classical look and wanted to create something that was “Chanel” with the black & white outfit. Since he is working in a vintage store and loves to play around with the garments, he also put a few dresses on a side that he felt were perfect with the look. I wish I could show you even more sides of Fabio, but for now, I’m happy to give you this intimate glimpse into his magical world. […] Recently, my family and I relocated to Malaga, aiming for a fresh start and a chance to immerse ourselves in the local creative scene. Crossing paths with Fabio in this new chapter of my life feels like a magical twist of fate.”
“Photography, to me, is a powerful tool to celebrate and share the experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community. Having the chance to capture Fabio’s fascinating world and contribute to this narrative is an absolute honour. I hope you find as much joy in these shots as I’ve found in creating them. Here’s to capturing more breathtaking moments in honour of Pride Month!”
Katrina Tang is an acknowledged Estonian artist who uses the photographic medium to chase her subjects’ colorful nature. She has a career in portraiture, fashion, and advertising photography. Tang has worked on a number of international well-known brands and publications. Check out more of her work on Cherrydeck, or her website.
To The Boys I’ve Seen
“It provides my personal experience of the spaces I have navigated as a Black queer image-maker. The gear utilized in the images is a signifier of the gaze which introduces ideas surrounding the intricacies of identity and visibility. Through visual sensibility, the project celebrates LGBTQIA+ beauty and offers aspirations of Black queer utopia.”
Nkateko Mondhlana is a professional Fashion & Editorial photographer, and filmmaker, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Check out more of Nkateko’s work on Cherrydeck, or his website.
P.A.R.T.Y. Pride And Revolution To Youth
by Nils Rossi
“The term ‘party’ in English has multiple meanings. […] Whether we refer to a single individual or to an extended group of people, whether by choice or by chance, by sharing an ideology, or for the sake of partying, this term concerns us all. It belongs to us and, in its etymological simplicity (from the Latin “partiri”), it represents the need that every human being expresses from the outset: the need to share. In other words, communicate. The photographic project ‘P.A.R.T.Y. Pride And Revolution To Youth’ was born from the charm that the characters of the LGBTQIA+ community have exerted on me, intrigued by the dynamics of the nightlife.
The exhibition portrays DJs, singers, dancers, boylesque & burlesque performers, drag & dark queens, artists, journalists, photographers, designers, voguers and music producers in the few moments that precede their performance at qLAB, a famous experimental laboratory that has been running for 7 years entertaining the Milanese context. In these shots, the performers reveal the paradox that has been able to grasp the king and wanted to tell the photographer.
It is precisely in the process of seeking one’s own identity and in the expression of another identity – through multiple different forms of art and entertainment – that the artists of the LGBTQIA+ community are able to create unique worlds and experiences.
On the one hand, these shots bring to light the pride and revolution of these artists. On the other, they invite the public, especially the young people to whom the exhibition is aimed, to observe and reflect on the identity process that each individual of the LGBTQIA+ community performs, both intimate and in the public.”
Nils Rossi is an Italian professional Fashion & Beauty photographer, based in Milan, Italy. Explore more of their work on Cherrydeck, or their website.
Happy Pride!
We hope you enjoyed these amazing Pride photography projects. At Cherrydeck, we strive to create an inclusive creative community and celebrate the diversity of our members.
And of course, we couldn’t end this article without channeling the uplifting energy of Pride Parades! From photographing Pride since 1996 to many more stories, our photographers truly know how to capture Pride the right way.
Find other inspiring photography projects on the Cherrydeck Blog. Or, check out our previous Pride Month special with colorful photos from our talented members.
To explore more of the photographers in our community, have a look at the Cherrydeck search. Happy Pride!
