About Me
I'm Melissa, a fashion photographer.
Melissa Anaman is a British Ghanian fashion photographer, creative director, stylist and set painter who creates editorial fashion images. These images mostly celebrate and reference African art styles and afro-futurism in a contemporary photography context.
I’ve realised that the photographs I take are essentially a reflection of how I see the world, and in turn, this is essentially a reflection of myself. As humans we tend to be drawn to the things that we can relate to, which for me is black individuals and particularly black women. The result is my wanting to convey black beauty in any shade, shape, size or gender, as there is not just one notion of blackness. There is space for us all to be seen and appreciated in any context. I want to redefine the settings for black and brown people and show that there is space for us everywhere.
INSPIRATION
My inspirations are black existence, black normality, black excellence, black self-love, black pride
My subjects inspire me. The person/s i photograph inform my choice of styling and art direction. I want there to be a visible relationship between the subject and their clothing and environment. The arts and the media should reflect the world that we all live in. My portfolio demonstrates this, with high production editorial shoots and ‘down to earth’, raw feeling imagery, showing the beauty in the 'imperfections'.
My work, in its many styles, reflects my core ideology and stand point: that blackness is not an ‘add on’ or an ‘external thing’. It is integral.
MY WORK
PORTFOLIOS
PRIDE OF HAIR
PRIDE OF HAIR
PRIDE OF HAIR
DETAIL
Me Hemmaa (Twi). Translation - My Queen (English)
The styling of hair is significant, as I was inspired by the way in which members of the Himba Tribe in North Namibia do their hair. The Himbas use different hairstyles to identify a persons status in their community. For example, you would be able to identify whether a woman is married and has had her first child depending if she is wearing a erembe headdress. The general style of hair the Himbas wear are locs, The hair is made up of goat fur, ground ochre, butter and sometimes additional hair. I wanted to emulate this in my image by using braiding hair and gold wire. I painted the backdrop in these colours, as red, black, green and yellow are flagship colours for Africa. Additionally, complementing the styling choices.
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have" - Maya Angelou.
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