The APA Diversity Committee is pleased to welcome our new Board Members!
@Ahmad Barber @Jean Bai @Jyotsna Bhamidipati and Nadia Stiegman. We are so pleased to have these talented photographers on board to help us continue to pave the way to success for our traditionally marginalized APA members.
Read below for a bio on Each!
Ahmad Barber is a creative director & photographer born in Detroit, Mi. Migrating to Atlanta, GA, where he currently resides, Ahmad graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Morehouse College. Diverging from the sciences, Ahmad has since developed a masterful eye for color and movement through various creative mediums.
Most infamously known as AB, he is one half of the fashion photography duo, AB+DM studio. In partnership with long-time friend, Donté Maurice, the award- winning duo has been published in magazines such as Vogue, Instyle, Elle, Marie Claire, Interview, CR Fashion Book, i-D, Essence, and American and British editions of GQ. The duo has worked on major campaigns for Lancome, L'Oreal, Reebok, New Balance, Bevel, Pureology, Fubu, and Warby Parker. The two have proudly served as board members for the Atlanta chapter of Atlanta Photographic Artists and Directors of Art & Photography for Black Fashion Fair.
Ahmad also acts as Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner to Streamlined Media & Communications where the integrated marketing and business transformation firm creates authentic connections across cultures and generations. Co-founding the firm with college friend Darren Martin Jr, Ahmad has developed a deep understanding of creating impactful media for diverse audiences. The firm, through its family of agencies, has worked with brands such as Google, Mondelez International, I&CO, AdWeek, Golin, Mondelez International, and Wattpad.
Through his multidisciplinary career, Ahmad hopes to use his resources and network to create more equitable opportunities for diverse creatives.
Jean Bai is a San Francisco-based architectural and interiors photographer.
Her passion began in 2007 on a trip to Europe, in which she found herself compulsively shooting with her first camera.This led her to explore the world of visual arts and storytelling, studying film, minoring in theater, and working at the campus newspaper for 4 years as a photojournalist and video journalist. As a result, she still draws inspiration from the films she watches and tries to keep her work authentic using a journalist's eye.
Jean believes that capturing environments with realism is what makes her images most meaningful and timeless. In her photos, she is constantly drawn to different qualities of light and how they create an atmosphere and breathe life into a space. She is the first place recipient of the 2020 American Photographic Artists Awards for Architecture. Outside of her typical client work, Jean works on Apple's photography team capturing their West Coast retail stores.
Jyotsna Bhamidipati is an editorial photographer based in Sacramento, Northern California; she travels throughout California for assignments year round. Jyo is inspired by the beauty of the nature, world cultures, travel, and the atmospheric textures around her. As such, her work often reflects these inspirations.
Everyday messes, little glimpses of beauty and joy in everyday chaos drives her work. She is a storyteller by heart, when her work showcases a skill to humanizes everything she photographs. From environmental and fine art portraits for brands, to food images for restaurants, and magazine editorials, Jyo loves telling stories visually to make an impact as a powerful narrative through her lens.
Nadia Steigman was raised on their family farm in central Illinois and now resides in Chicago. Nadia has recently been breaking into the commercial photography industry and focuses on prop styling, set design, and lighting. Nadia's personal work employs sci-fi, color theory, rurality, and queerness in their photography to create other worldly scenarios that are both captivating and bizarre. Nadia has featured Art work at Latitude Chicago, AINT-BAD, The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, Jan Brandt Gallery, as well as in Lethe Press and Create Magazine!. Nadia received their B.F.A. in Studio Photography and B.S. in Arts Technology from Illinois State University in 2019.
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Martine Severin
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