Meet Symone Seven: Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Symone Seven and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Symone, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’m Symone Seven and I specialize in the impossible as a Photoshop instructor and self-portrait artist. I set out to pursue an artistic career by following my desire for social change. I realized the power photography had to shape the way we see people, and how we treat them based on our perceptions. We learn about people and places outside of our communities through the images in books, tv, movies, or on the internet. A camera can be used for good by inspiring empathy and respect or it could be used in a harmful way to degrade and dehumanize. Being a woman of color, my social group isn’t always treated fairly due to a long history of negative representation. I wanted to use my camera to show the world how beautiful and capable you can be because of, and not in spite of, being brown or a woman.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Some people have crowned me the “Queen of Photoshop.” You can see me transformed into a 16th century Renaissance painting or even a Disney Princess. My self-portraits have gone viral in 2020 featured in Good Morning America, Business Insider, BET, The Shade Room, and more. During the COVID quarantine, I had a new apartment turned photography studio and a lot of time on my hands. I couldn’t change the chaos going on in the world. But I knew I could create a sense of peace by doing what I love: taking pictures. I shared my self-portraits on social media for people who would feel encouraged to see them too. I found out that there was a whole community of people around the world who were excited to see positive representations of brown people and women for a change. Mothers share with me every time I post how much their little brown children jump with joy to see someone who looks like them painted in a positive light. Before, I didn’t know the impact self-portraits could make. It may seem vain to some people to just take selfies all the time. I see my self-portraits as an art form and a tool to inspire social equality. I take what I do very seriously.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Atlanta is a city of lights and tall buildings but my favorite places are away from all the hustle and bustle. I love local nature preserves like Arabia Mountain, Cascade Nature Preserve, Roswell Old Mill Park. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
All that I’ve grown to be is shaped by where I was planted: my hometown of St.Petersburg, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. I’m sending my shoutout to all the incredible photographers I’ve met there that shared their light with me.

Website: www.symoneseven.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/symone-seven-a07585206/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/symoneseven

Facebook: www.facebook.com/symoneseven

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SymoneSeven/

Image Credits
All photos/model/edit is @symoneseven