Louisa Wells
Queens, NY
Daily Carry Camera
Nikon N5005 and Mamiya 645
Favorite Film Stock
Kodak Portra 400
Louisa Wells is a New York-based Fashion and Portrait photographer. She received her B.A. of Communications from Vanderbilt University in 2014, where she was the first African-American undergrad student to exhibit her photography work at the Bishop Johnson Black Cultural Center. In 2017, she received the Judges’ and Peoples’ Choice Awards for Adobe’s Creative Jam Competition in New York City. Currently, Wells’ focus is on photography that reflects everyday joy and love at the intersection of race and high fashion. In 2020 she started a monthly print newsletter entitled “Belonging” that explores topics of race, culture, and art all under the umbrella question of “what does it mean to belong?” She is currently the Photo Art Director for the gender non-prescriptive clothing brand Primary and is also part of the Black Women Photographers initiative.
Louisa Wells's Work




Why I shoot film
I shoot film because it allows me to slow down. The entire process of shooting film is a practice in patience: it is unhurried and leisurely. It requires me to truly consider what I’m capturing and why I want to capture it.