<h2 id="cd25a404-63d2-47f6-8b3e-d34736681e16" data-toc-id="cd25a404-63d2-47f6-8b3e-d34736681e16" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">10+ Essential Questions Answered by the World’s Most Respected Photographers</h2>Learn how the world’s best photographers shoot, think, and create — and how you can too.Above: Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn<h3 id="cccdc13d-aeed-42ab-8409-ed75c2093c01" data-toc-id="cccdc13d-aeed-42ab-8409-ed75c2093c01" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Photographer Spotlight: Laylah Amatullah Barrayn</h3><h5 id="21e2f253-a8d9-49c0-9a48-bb55e2df93cb" data-toc-id="21e2f253-a8d9-49c0-9a48-bb55e2df93cb" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2;">Writer, curator, documentary photographer, teacher and regular contributor to the New York Times</h5><h5 id="c3cbc97b-f5c0-460f-b091-5785b1fc4ac4" data-toc-id="c3cbc97b-f5c0-460f-b091-5785b1fc4ac4" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2;"></h5>Laylah Amatullah Barrayn is a documentary photographer, writer, and curator examining religious traditions and women’s experiences across the Black diaspora. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, she teaches photography at Rutgers University–Newark and the International Center of Photography. Her projects include co-founding MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora and authoring We Are Present: 2020 in Portraits.You can find Laylah here: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.LaylahBarrayn.com">www.LaylahBarrayn.com</a> and on instagram: @LaylahB<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9b9gls9ksjdzqthtbj9t8p.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="position: relative; width: 283px; height: auto; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px auto;" wrapperstyle="display: flex;" style="text-align: center;">Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.moadsf.org/">Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco)</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.taubmanmuseum.org/">Taubman Museum of Art (Roanoke)</a>, and in international group exhibitions including MANIFESTA and the Brighton Photo Biennial. She is currently co-organizing a convening in Accra, Ghana, scheduled for March 2026, focused on the keepers of photography archives.<h3 id="4d79cbaf-661d-48ab-a93f-26b19ff3ce09" data-toc-id="4d79cbaf-661d-48ab-a93f-26b19ff3ce09" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Q&amp;A with Laylah Amatullah Barrayn</h3><h3 id="cbe92439-6593-4f86-97aa-30117acacfb0" data-toc-id="cbe92439-6593-4f86-97aa-30117acacfb0" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Vision &amp; Purpose</h3>What is your ultimate aim in photography? What are you hoping to express or achieve through your work?“My main goal as a documentary and portrait photographer is to record and preserve. Presence and preservation is very important to me, I actually insist on it. Also, how can we shape a collective imagination that centers humanity, dignity, beauty. It is important to document the traditions, cultures and aesthetics of the African and it’s diaspora. My practice also incorporates memory work, and I would define that as creative research with people, places, and archives by layering testimony, images, and artifacts to make the past visible in the present. I’m interested in how photographs don’t just show the past; they hold it.”Laylah Amatullah Barray <span style="color: rgb(10, 10, 10); font-family: &quot;Google Sans&quot;, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;">has used her lens to capture narratives that are often overlooked, focusing on themes of identity, spirituality, and social resistance.<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bcmz4245g8xqthfs6h43d.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynHow do you hope your photographs make people feel? Is there a particular emotion or response you’re often aiming to evoke?“This is a great question, because ultimately, the viewer, and what they bring to an image, will have the final say with regards to what they take away. At the same time, I do hope that my images inspire curiosity and compassion. I absolutely love to look at beauty and adornment in my practice, so I also hope that people feel and understand that beauty is accessible and can be entered through many points. I’m after warmth and dignity without sacrificing complexity.”&nbsp;<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bqi3wag6mi5qr3qpq6z9u.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn<h3 id="904e54b7-ea07-4fa2-ad11-1d396cf1d207" data-toc-id="904e54b7-ea07-4fa2-ad11-1d396cf1d207" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Inspiration and Influence</h3>Which books, exhibitions, or fellow photographers have had the biggest impact on how you see the world through your lens?“I’m also inspired by figures who used images as instruments of freedom and self-definition. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Douglass">Frederick Douglass</a> modeled how portraiture could serve abolition and civic argument. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.abbanfelicia.com/">Felicia Abban</a>—widely regarded as Ghana’s first female professional photographer—opened her ownstudio, invited people to see their beauty, made self-portraits as advertisements to define herimage on her own terms, and later served as an official photographer for President Kwame Nkrumah after independence. I look to <a target="_blank" href="https://mingsmithstudio.com/">Ming Smith</a>, the first African American woman photographer collected by MoMA, for the way she shapes, stretches, and complicates movement so poetically. I admire <a target="_blank" href="https://jeannemoutoussamy-ashe.com/">Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe’</a>s loving, sustained attention to communities like the Sea Islands of the American South. I’m equally shaped by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.revuenoire.com/en/mama-casset/">Mama Casset</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://aperture.org/editorial/the-lives-of-coreen-simpson/">Coreen Simpson</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/jamelshabazz/?hl=en">Jamel Shabazz</a>—artists who used elegance, staging, and the social life of a portrait to honor their communities. And, of course, <a target="_blank" href="https://debwillisphoto.com/home.html">Dr. Deborah Willis</a>—whose brilliant scholarship has framed, contextualized, and preserved these histories—continues to be a guiding force.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bdhem9r7fh2qrehm5hxys.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynMany photographers strive to develop a unique style or voice. What practical steps helped you discover your own, or do you believe a distinct style is even necessary?“Style grows from frequent practice and leaning into curiosity. I would begin by identifying what you’re drawn to and what stories you feel responsible to tell. Then work every day to see that interest more clearly. Give yourself constraints through challenging yourself, maybe using asingle lens or format for a season. I would also read and research, supplement your visual storytelling with the historical and cultural context of your interests. A solid distinct voice follows from consistent decisions about light, distance, pacing, and care for your people whatyou photograph, not from chasing novelty.”<h3 id="7e3a1cd9-143e-42d6-b717-a999e39865c5" data-toc-id="7e3a1cd9-143e-42d6-b717-a999e39865c5" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Process and Practice</h3>Can you walk us through the story and techniques behind one of your favorite photographs? What makes it stand out to you?“A little over ten years ago in Saint-Louis, Senegal, a city that always intrigued me and that I return to often, I made a photograph of a boy playing football just after a rain. The street was still damp; walls and ground held this velvety texture that rain leaves behind. I wanted movement you could feel and the atmosphere you could almost smell, so I chose a slow shutterand a gentle camera tilt, letting the boy streak forward while the wet ground and facades registered as soft, textured layers. I wasn’t out “on assignment”; I was on an evening walk. That’s why it’s a favorite: it’s a picture of attention and readiness. The frame holds two rhythms atonce, the boy’s motion and the city’s soaked stillness, and that tension is what makes it stand out for me.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9gxiqwdwm8h2qr8f6699e5.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynWhat photographic—or broader artistic—technique do you find yourself returning to most often, and why?“I love to layer my images. I always return to layering and to natural light. If I can work with available light, and catch even a hint of it as a rim light, I know it’s goingto be a beautiful photograph. And when I’m presenting a series, I’m always thinking about how presence and absence can share a frame.”&nbsp;<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bqq4n2bs48xqt5g1b1m5o.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynHow do you personally recognize when a photograph you’ve taken is truly great? What do you look for?“When it’s a portrait, I know it’s strong when both the sitter and I are fully present and open to the process. When light, form, and intention lock together, it will be a picture I’m proud to show and speak about. And if the image also feels like an evolution of what I’ve been making, I know the process has taught me something: that growth is its own mark of greatness.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9belxh74eu92qreol78ac8.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn<h3 id="336bbf2e-aa2e-4b82-9bb2-930f48dd6fe3" data-toc-id="336bbf2e-aa2e-4b82-9bb2-930f48dd6fe3" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Gear</h3>What’s a piece of gear you didn’t expect to love—but now never leave behind?“Interestingly enough, I’ve been carrying around a small flash with a trigger. When I do use it, it’s for the tiniest fill, which sometimes makes all the difference.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bq9vda5ddf1qtdbpn4fi5.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn<h3 id="30adef68-3632-401c-938e-c37f42cf666d" data-toc-id="30adef68-3632-401c-938e-c37f42cf666d" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Growth</h3>Was there a particular mindset shift, technique, or experience that accelerated your learning more than anything else?“Giving equal weight to research and relationships. Treating the archive, the neighborhood, and the studio as one continuum has made my pictures fuller and my projects more rooted.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bc8qj9muedzqt2fo29q8d.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9be5iy256h8xqt1wk25e69.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynWhen you hit creative blocks or feel uninspired, how do you push through? Do you have any personal strategies to reignite your vision?“I walk without a camera, I head to the stacks for books on history, photography, African diasporic culture; I also visit archives and sit with what was left for us researchers for hours. And teaching, being in dialogue with students, always re-sharpens my eye.”<h3 id="8920810e-cf92-43c7-b93e-29654b422dae" data-toc-id="8920810e-cf92-43c7-b93e-29654b422dae" style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Current work</h3>Can you tell us about a recent or past project that you’re especially proud of, and what made it meaningful to you?“I just finished an artist residency in Senegal and I am currently artist-in-residence at Express Newark, which is part of Rutgers University where I also teach and my latest self-portrait project, Grounds of Memory is on view. MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora affirmed the vast, intergenerational brilliance of women photographers of the African diaspora, creating a platform that didn’t exist at the scale we needed. We Are Present: 2020 in Portraits held space for a year of rupture and resilience, honoring how people carried themselves through uncertainty. Seeing these projects move from ideas to pages, walls, and public dialogue - books, exhibitions, convenings - brought a deep sense of gratitude. The work mattered because it made room: for archives to grow, for communities to see themselves, and for future artists to find lineage.”<img src="https://ezycourse.b-cdn.net/5185/cmm9bbpi923hu8xqtbx1p6gvh.jpg" alt="image" containerstyle="width: 100%; height: auto; cursor: pointer; " wrapperstyle="display: flex">Photo by Laylah Amatullah BarraynFinal thoughts…“Photograph with verbs, not nouns. Decide early if you’re honoring, tracing, witnessing, or questioning. Edit in sequences so your pictures speak to one another. Write as you work; a single paragraph of intent can save months of wandering. And treat credit and context as craft: cite sources, share back with sitters, and keep meticulous captions, your future self (and the archive) will thank you.”Conclusion from Masters of PhotographyLaylah Amatullah Barrayn’s approach reminds us that photography is far more than a technical pursuit; it is an act of preservation and presence. By treating the lens as a tool for "memory work," she challenges us to look beyond the surface and capture the warmth, dignity, and historical depth inherent in every subject. Her journey from the damp streets of Saint-Louis to the prestigious galleries of MoAD San Francisco serves as a powerful testament to the impact of curiosity and care. Whether you are experimenting with a single lens or diving into the archives, Barrayn’s insights encourage us to photograph with a sense of responsibility—ensuring our images don't just show the past, but hold it for the future.&nbsp;Thank you for reading and if you’ve been inspired by the interview and want to deepen your skills, mindset, and storytelling ability, we invite you to explore our full range of courses — featuring legendary photographers like Steve McCurry, Joel Meyerowitz, Albert Watson, and more. See all our courses here: <a target="_blank" href="https://mastersof.photography/">https://mastersof.photography/</a>At Masters of Photography, we believe that learning from the world’s best is the fastest way to unlock your own creative voice!

In this episode, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn shares insights on visual storytelling, documenting the African diaspora, and finding your creative voice.

Through Their Lens – Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

10+ Essential Questions Answered by the World’s Most Respected Photographers

Photographer Spotlight: Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

Writer, curator, documentary photographer, teacher and regular contributor to the New York Times

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Through Their Lens – Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

Through Their Lens – Laylah Amatullah Barrayn

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