Tyler Mitchell (born April 12, 1995)[1][2][3] is an American photographer. He is based in
Brooklyn,
New York, and is best known for his cover photo of
Beyoncé for the cover of Vogue.[4]
Early life
Mitchell grew up in
Marietta, Georgia. In ninth grade, he purchased a
Canon camera and taught himself how to make skateboarding videos.[4] He was inspired by
Spike Jonze to learn how to make videos and taught himself how to edit through
YouTube tutorials.[4] Mitchell attended
The Westminster Schools of Atlanta.
In 2015, Mitchell created and published his first book at the age of 20 after visiting
Havana,
Cuba, on a six-week photography program.[5] While he was there he documented skateboarding life and the architecture in Havana and turned it into a 108-page book called El Paquete.[6][5]
Before photographing
Beyoncé for the cover of American Vogue's September 2018 issue at the age of 23, he got a lot of experience making and editing short films at home and also shot music videos for rapper
Kevin Abstract during his freshman year of college.[4] Additionally, before the Vogue cover, Mitchell worked with Teen Vogue to document and photograph teen
gun control activists for the magazine's digital issue.[1] A couple months later, Mitchell became the first
African American to photograph for the cover of American Vogue, and also one of the youngest photographers ever to do so.[4][9] In 2019, the
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery acquired one of the portraits of Beyoncé by Mitchell for their permanent collection.[10]
Mitchell has been praised for documenting nuanced expressions of black life, which he has referred to as a "Black utopic vision".[7] His exhibition I Can Make You Feel Good features photographs of black people enjoying daily life, predominantly outdoors, which The New York Times asserts "challenges the art historical renderings of leisure time as the purview of the white gentry." He explores cultural reclamation in his professional work as fashion photographer.[7]