“Shutterbug?”: Black Women Photographers and the Politics of Self-Representation

Abstract

Since its invention, the camera has been an object infused with power dynamics. Expressions such as “shooting” a location, “capturing” an image, and “taking” a photograph imply a sense of control and dominance within the act of photography.1 Hence, the photographer is a figure with a degree of agency over those framed by their lens, as their gaze and influence shape the image. While there is a collaboration between sitter and photographer, it is the photographer who has the ability to “shoot,” “capture,” and “take.” The position of professional “photographer” implies an authoritative gaze. It is interesting, therefore, to consider how groups who have been historically marginalized are imagined as “photographers”: how does power manifest within different photographic constructions of the professional “photographer”?