Micaiah Carter’s Iconic Photography Empowers A New Generation

Carter’s impressive portfolio includes fashion editorials for The New York Times and the Brooklyn Museum, as well as shooting Afropunk portraits for Vogue, The Weeknd for Time Magazine, Dev Hynes for Vulture, and the new Nike campaign for Kendrick Lamar’s shoe, Cortez Kenny IV. Be it notable celebrities, models, or musicians, Carter’s original photography shows his subject’s personality with depth, pride, and narrative. His aesthetic echoes visual elements of the ’70s disco era, the influential street photography of Jamel Shabazz, the art of Carrie Mae Weems and Viviane Sassen, and the work of British fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan. Carter’s style is celebrated in his forthcoming photo book titled 95 48; the title referring to his and his father’s birth years respectively. 95 48 incorporates photography taken by Carter alongside photographs taken by his father during the 1970s, at the height of the revolutionary Black Power movement. “My dad was my age now during the ’70s and I find it interesting how his life in a way matches mine in the same fights for equality and acceptance in America,” he explained in a recent interview. “My book shows the story of father and son connected through the language of the ’70s that also communicates a message about blackness in youth culture today.”