Julia Gol | Contributor
Featured image: More women are breaking into the photography industry. | Courtesy of Nesrin Danan
Pilots have the duo of flying and time travel, bodybuilders may have superhuman strength, watchmakers can manipulate time and chemists have the ability to control matter.
Nesrin Danan and Bianca Scarlato are two females who possess the coveted ability to make time stop. These two photographers are breaking beyond the conventional boxes that have been established for women.
Since the invention of the portable camera and image development, photography has been a male-dominated industry. Trailblazers like Yousuf Karsh and Andy Warhol shaped the industry into what it has become today.
Photography has dabbled in fashion, film and more modern digital media, but those entering the industry today have brought their own takes on classic techniques.
A new group of millennials are asserting their footing. From aerial to street, females especially have reworked what men from the 18th and 19th century have assumed to be the “ideal” in the profession. This being said, it is incredible to witness the evolution and the growth that such an industry has gone through with time.
Danan’s high school administration accidentally enrolled her in a film and photography class, but that mistake was one that has shaped the rest of her years. The class taught her the basics of photography such as composition, and in turn, she taught herself how to use a DSLR and signed up to work on the yearbook.
At 17, she took her camera to a Macklemore and Ryan Lewis show in her hometown and continued to do so with other acts. After forming relationships with artists such as D-WHY, Danan is now one of the most highly regarded concert and lifestyle photographers under the moniker “Black Prints,” hitting over 100,000 followers across her combined social media channels.
Scarlato is Toronto’s own contribution to the industry. She has evolved from stacking boxes to take photos of herself on a self-timer to being one of the main photographers for Peace Collective, a local clothing label.
Seeing herself in front of the camera as an actor and singer before she stumbled into the realm of Instagram, Scarlato has now evidently achieved a balance of both. From covering WayHome Music & Arts Festival to being one of the first few people in the city to get early access to shoot Kanye West’s fashion collection, Scarlato, has undoubtedly built a career off of social media.
These two visual storytellers are contributing to the notion that women dismantling the designated boxes built by society is a normal thing, and that others should not fear stepping out of their comfort zones—be it in a personal or artistic context. Not only are these women phenomenal at what they do, but they do it with a big heart as leaders and role models for others.
