The 20 young photographers in our original 2019 selection brought distinct approaches to portraits, fashion, travel, and conceptual work. Julia Trotti's outdoor portraits, Polina Washington's cinematic color, and Kyle Thompson's surreal self-portraits offer three places to start.
This article revisits that group, which includes photographers with established careers. The numbers retain the original order. Browse the linked work for ideas about light, color, setting, and the stories a photograph can suggest.
20. Julia Trotti
Julia Trotti is a portrait photographer based in Sydney. Her photographs often place people in colorful outdoor settings, with soft light and backgrounds that complement the subject.
Her website links to her YouTube channel, where she shares photography and editing tutorials alongside camera and lens reviews. Look at how she uses the direction of light and the colors behind a person to shape a portrait.
19. Noukka Signe
Noukka Signe is a Dutch portrait photographer. Her work centers on people, emotions, and the stories they bring to a photograph.
Her 2019 60-day photo project explored self-portraiture. The entry 18/60 – Quiet moments also records a day when she struggled for inspiration but went outside to photograph anyway. It is a reminder that a series can grow through practice, including the days when an idea does not come easily.
18. Anna Heimkreiter
Anna Heimkreiter is a German self-portrait artist whose work connects personal feelings with the outdoors. A figure in a wide landscape can suggest solitude, freedom, or a sense of wonder.
On her artist page, she describes using self-portraits to express what she feels. Study how much space she leaves around a person. The setting carries part of the emotion instead of serving only as a background.
17. Polina Washington
Polina Washington's work spans multiple exposures on film and cinematic photographs built around light and color. Her earlier film work is one part of a practice that has continued to change.
In her Capture One interview, she explains how color helps her express the world she imagines. Her own site also links to her portfolio. Pay attention to the way a colored light or a dark corner can set the mood of an entire scene.
16. Tim Cavadini
Tim Cavadini photographs portraits, fashion, and artists. His work shows how those subjects can share a visual language without every shoot looking the same.
His photography site separates fashion and beauty work from artist portraits. Compare the two galleries for changes in expression, styling, and setting. A simple location can leave more room for a person's face and posture to carry the image.
15. Julie de Waroquier
Julie de Waroquier is a self-taught French photographer and philosophy teacher. Her conceptual photographs bring together familiar subjects and scenes that could belong to a dream.
Her biography explains the connection between her photography and philosophy. It also describes Clichés de femmes, which pairs sexist quotations from philosophers with images that question them. Her work is a place to study how a photograph can challenge an idea as well as illustrate it.
14. James Chan
James Chan is a photographer from Taiwan. His soft, nostalgic portraits were part of the appeal of the original selection.
His Flickr profile leads to his photographs. As you browse, think about the difference between a technically sharp picture and one that conveys a feeling. Grain, blur, and texture can be expressive choices; an image does not have to look polished to hold your attention.
13. Louis Dazy
Louis Dazy creates cinematic images with a strong sense of night-time atmosphere. Neon signs, streaks of light, and solitary figures bring together intimacy and the energy of a city.
His site describes the role of light, focus, and composition in these scenes. Look for the relationship between a person and the illuminated signs around them. The surroundings help tell the story instead of disappearing behind the portrait.
12. Ronny Garcia
Ronny Garcia is a fine art photographer and visual artist. His portraits have a painterly, sometimes surreal character, with color and objects helping to suggest an emotional story.
His website describes that interest in translating feelings into images. When looking at his work, notice how the subject, props, and lighting contribute to the same mood. Each part of the frame can support an idea before a caption explains it.
11. Alexandra Bochkareva
Alexandra Bochkareva is a fine art and portrait photographer originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Her projects include Redheads' Stories and Northern Forest Tales.
Her artist profile describes the latter as a project about connections between people and rescued animals. That distinction matters when viewing her portraits. Look at the relationship between hair, clothing, and the surrounding colors, as well as the connection between the subjects.
10. Brian Oldham
Brian Oldham's photographic work explores identity and the body, often through images that feel staged or surreal. Their practice also includes writing and experimental projects.
Oldham's exhibition record includes shows in Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin. Their work is a prompt to think beyond a flattering likeness: a portrait can raise questions about how a person is seen, represented, or understood.
9. Kyle Thompson
Kyle Thompson began taking photographs at nineteen after becoming interested in nearby abandoned houses. His work often uses self-portraits in empty forests and abandoned homes.
His biography explains his interest in images that suggest a story without giving it a fixed beginning or end. Look at what happens when the face is hidden. The person's identity becomes less specific, leaving room for the viewer to imagine the situation.
8. Sina Domke
Sina Domke is a fine art photographer whose work gives landscapes and underwater images a dreamlike atmosphere. The setting is part of the feeling of the photograph.
On her site, she describes making images about connection, loss, and change. Light and landscape help blur the line between an actual place and an imagined world. Her work invites you to consider what a location can express beyond its appearance.
7. Brittney Borowski
Brittney Borowski photographs weddings, couples, and families. Her work focuses on the connections between people and the small moments around a planned portrait.
She now introduces herself as Brittney Borowski Taylor on her about page. Her interest in laughter, affection, and spontaneous expressions offers a different approach from the staged conceptual work elsewhere on this list. Look for gestures between people as well as faces turned toward the camera.
6. Anastasia Volkova
Anastasia Volkova's early portrait work includes self-portraits in simple locations. In a first-person account of her beginnings, she describes first photographing herself and friends for memories, then developing her work through regular practice.
Her Flickr archive is a starting point for exploring those portraits. Study how expression and light can make an ordinary setting feel personal. You can try the same exercise close to home, with one location and several different viewpoints.
5. Mari-ann Curtis
Mari-ann Curtis is a portrait and nature photographer from England. Her interest in instant photography gives her images a nostalgic character.
Her own Flickr posts include contributions to 'Roid Week. In another post, she reflects on a portrait's unexpectedly shadowy light and how it grew on her. It is an example of reassessing a result instead of dismissing it because it differs from the original plan.
4. Ruby James
Ruby James is a portrait photographer whose work ranges from simple portraits to images with more unusual concepts and lighting techniques.
Her Flickr archive is one entry point into her earlier work. When comparing portraits, notice which details attract you first: the expression, the lighting, or the colors. That can help you decide which part of a portrait you want to experiment with in your own work.
3. Manuela Kalì
Manuela Kalì works in fashion and portrait photography. Her photographs bring attention to the person while also using clothing and setting to shape the scene.
The fashion editorial Lust credits her as photographer and creative director, alongside a styling, hair, makeup, and set team. It is a reminder that a fashion photograph can be a shared production. Study the whole frame, including the work that surrounds the model.
2. SamAlive
Sam Fan, known as SamAlive, photographs people, landscapes, and city scenes. His current biography places him in Tokyo and describes five formative years in NYC.
That biography emphasizes light, atmosphere, and a sense of place. When you explore his work, look at how a person's surroundings affect the image. A travel portrait can tell you about a place and a person at the same time.
1. Natalie Kucken
Natalie Kucken is a fashion and conceptual photographer. Her earlier work uses cool tones, muted highlights, and a hazy appearance. Ordinary details, such as a child or a familiar object, can make a dreamlike scene feel recognizable.
Her website separates editorial work from documentary projects dated 2009–2011, 2012–2016, and 2017–2018. Browse a complete series as well as individual pictures to see how images can build a mood together.
Conclusion
Choose one photographer whose work makes you pause. Look through a series and identify one decision you can describe: soft side light, a restricted color palette, a small figure in a wide scene, or an obscured face.
Then make a photograph using that idea with your own subject and setting. Compare the result with what you intended and try again. Studying other photographers becomes more rewarding when it leads to a choice you can test in your own pictures.