Today we’d like to introduce you to Gifty Sogah.
Hi Gifty, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a 20 years old immigrant from Lome, Togo and I started my photography journey in my sophomore year of high school. Before I even bought a camera, I would always watch youtube videos of photographers, create Pinterest boards of photography ideas and practice photography on my phone. In short, even before I had the equipment to be a professional photographer, I acquired the knowledge and skill by learning from other photographers on Youtube.
This allowed for me to rapidly progress in my work because I put myself in a mental state to prepare for this journey. I would personally say the main reason why I am where I am today is the number of people who have supported me and shown love for my photography even when I did not love my own work. My friends and supporters are the main reason I have made it this far because honestly, they believed in me more than I ever believed in myself.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
On the topic of struggles, the truth is I held myself back and the mentality that I created surrounding my work has caused me stagnation. I started my photography journey alone at the age of 16 without any mentors or peers. As a result, I forced myself to specialize in every aspect of photography from lighting and editing to even finding a wardrobe for my clients. I have become accustomed to doing everything on my own and whenever I am confronted with an issue, I do consider seeking help. Specifically, in photography where there is usually a team working with the photographer, I have never reached out to anyone to aid me with my photography because I simply never learned how to ask for help. This has led to significant stagnation in my work because it is difficult for 1 person to know everything about a studio, makeup, where to find models, or even where to find free clothes. The lack of a mentor, not being around other creative individuals, and being the only young black photographer when I started made me rely solely on myself. Although I would not classify this as a struggle, as a young artist, I unconsciously placed myself in a bubble and it has been difficult to work my way out.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I started out as a portrait photographer but I am also trying to work my way more toward fashion and editorial photography. I am known for my photography of predominately black women. However, this was not intentional. As a black woman myself, I simply believe my clients trusted me to capture the essence of their nature and beauty. As a result, I am often only hired by other black women, hence my photography mainly captures them. I have become specialized in beautifully photographing individuals of darker complexion which is an honor because black people are often excluded from the field of photography. It brings me joy and honor to capture my people in a mindful and beautiful light. It genuinely makes me happy that people look at my photography and think about how beautiful black people are. That is my proudest accomplishment, to showcase the overlooked beauty of black people. Personally, I believe my use of color in editing is what sets me apart. I used to believe this was my greatest weakness but if you look at the history of my work, my color palettes constantly change. I take a different approach to how I edit every photo because I do not seek to make all of my photos match but rather complement each other. My use of color varies in every photo. If I had a signature touch, it would probably just be the color yellow which is often in the highlights of my photos but aside from that, I experiment with color in my work.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
For people to work with me or collaborate, they simply have to reach out to me through email or social media and we can talk. I appreciate every effort made by anyone to work with me because I recognize it as an act of trust in me as a photographer. In terms of supporting me, my main form of exposure at the moment is on Instagram so anyone reaching out to me on there for opportunities or sharing my work is greatly appreciated.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://giftysogah.myportfolio.com/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giftysogah/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gifty.sogah.58/
