African photography has always been about more than just taking pictures. It’s how we’ve told our own stories through the way we dressed, posed, celebrated, and existed. It’s not just about what’s in the frame. It’s about how it felt to be there.
Long before Africa’s art scene had global recognition, these photographers were already creating worlds. In studios and on the streets, they captured joy, pride, intimacy, and style in ways that still feel modern today. They weren't working to impress anyone. They were documenting life on their own terms.
If you care about photography, culture, or where this all started, you need to know these names.
Seydou Keïta’s portraits are graceful, composed, and deeply personal. Working in Bamako in the 1950s and 1960s, he invited people into his studio and allowed them to choose how they wanted to be portrayed. Clients posed with radios, motorbikes, and patterned fabrics, sometimes wearing their finest traditional clothes, and at other times, sleek Western suits. His photos weren’t flashy. They were powerful because they felt real. He gave people control over their image and, in doing so, helped shift how Africa was perceived, starting from within.
Malick Sidibé’s work was all about movement and feeling. He followed Mali’s youth in the years after independence, at dance parties, on beach outings, and in studios where friends posed like pop stars. He showed freedom, love, music, rebellion, and fun. His black-and-white shots are full of joy but also softness. Sidibé captured the energy of a generation that was creating its own identity, and having a good time doing it.
Ojeikere’s work is quiet, striking, and deeply intentional. His most iconic series, Hairstyles, documented the incredible variety and symbolism in Nigerian women’s hair. Shot in profile against plain backdrops, the images feel almost sculptural, like a study in design and culture at the same time. These weren’t just beauty portraits. They were a celebration of heritage, craft, and expression, framed with the respect they deserved.
Sory’s photos are full of attitude in the best way. Working in Bobo-Dioulasso in the 1960s and 1970s, he captured a young, fashionable, and confident generation. Some came to his Volta Photo studio to pose with props and style. Others were caught mid-movement at parties or concerts he shot as a nightlife photographer. His work provides a vivid look into youth culture and everyday life during a period of significant change.
Samuel Fosso used photography to explore identity on his terms. He didn’t just take portraits; he became his own subject, dressing up, posing, and building characters in front of the camera. Some were playful, others political. It was his way of saying, “I decide how I’m seen”. Long before conversations about self-image and representation were mainstream, Fosso was already doing the work quietly, powerfully, and without apology.
James Barnor’s photography lives between Ghana and London, between tradition and modernity. He captured Ghana as it moved toward independence and, later, Black diasporic life in 1960s Britain. His photos have a softness to them, portraits in color, fashion shoots, and street scenes, always showing his subjects with dignity and style. Barnor gave us images of Black modern life that were rarely seen at the time and still feel rare now.
They showed West Africa the way it really was: honest, confident, full of life.
Their photos weren’t about fame or recognition. They were about the moment, the feeling, the truth.
If you haven’t taken the time to look at their work, now’s a good place to start.
This year’s 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York brought together some of the most exciting artists from Africa and the diaspora. From bold paintings to textured installations, here are a few of my favorite pieces and moments from the fair.
Before African photography had a spotlight, these artists were already building the archive. Studio shots, street scenes, soft moments. This is a look at the ones who shaped the way West Africa saw itself.
A look at how contemporary African art builds on tradition to reflect identity, culture, and modern life across Bantu and West African regions.