As Pride Month comes to a close, Adolescent is taking the time to highlight, amplify, and share the lives and work of our LGBTQ+ creators. June has historically been significant for the LGBTQ+ community—to commemorate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in Manhattan. In June 2015, Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in all 50 states in America. Since the first Pride march in 1970 to celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Pride celebrations have grown global in the forms of parades, marches, commemorations, and countless other festivities to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March, and though the usual Pride celebrations have largely gone virtual or been canceled due to COVID-19 and social-distancing rules, this doesn’t mean the festivities have to stop. We hope that in reading this round-up, you take the time to learn, discover, and support the remarkable work our LGBTQ+ creators are doing.

Amarie Baker

Amarie Baker is a New York City-based freelance social media strategist and visual artist. Her artistic mediums range from writing to digital and film photography. Within social media strategy, Amarie has a unique focus on branding and guerrilla marketing. Her work has been seen in Refinery29, Chandelier Creative, She Shreds Magazine, and more. Her clients have included Free People, Samsung, North Face, and more. She also recently shot, edited, and directed videos for the ethical and organic underwear brand Pansyco. Her work for Pansyco was through her art collective, binar bb collective—a space for people of color and queer, trans, and non-binary folks. 

Follow Amarie on Instagram and Twitter, and check out her amazing portfolio!

Allison Barr

Allison Barr is a 21-year-old photographer hailing from Portland, Oregon. Allison is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon, where she studied journalism and film studies. Allison’s photography has been published in both print and digital for Lithium Magazine, Align Magazine, Heart Eyes Magazine, The Restless Collective, The Luna Collective, Sirens, and many more. Allison has captured artists such as Sylvan Esso, Raveena, King Princess, Billie Eilish, Troye Sivan, and more in concert. During her time interning at Billboard, she worked behind the scenes helping on cover stories featuring Lizzo and Lil Nas X. She’s currently a photographer for Local Wolves Magazine, the editor-in-chief of Align Magazine, and a manager of FRECKS. Allison’s focus within photography is capturing and highlighting women and queer folks, as well as youth, music, and life. 

Check out Allison’s impressive portfolio here and follow her Instagram!

Violeta Capasso

Violeta Capasso is a photographer born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After graduating from high school, she studied cinematography in college. Violeta is an accomplished film photographer who captures themes of the feminine body, intimacy, gender, friends, and feminism—all on 35mm film. She has worked campaigns for Nike Air Max, Converse, Plop Underwear, Ninfa Underwear, and many more. Her Hair Series is a deeply personal and evocative glimpse into representations of beauty and body hair for different people. Violeta’s photo series that explores expressions and emotions of queer love was published by Getty Images. Currently, she teaches photography and curatorship, and is also a workshop volunteer at PH15, an organization which teaches photography in vulnerable neighborhoods in Argentina.

Follow Violeta’s Instagram here and check out her profile and portfolio on Adolescent!

Victor Cornejo

Victor Cornejo is a Gen-Z artist and photographer born and raised in Mexico, who later moved to California and later the Chicago area. One of Victor’s main intentions in his art is creating work rooted in personal experience and memory; he believes that primary and first-hand experience will lead to more authentic creation. He has majored in cognitive science, and focuses on research and food photography. One of Victor’s personal goals is finding a way to integrate science into art.

Check out Victor’s profile and portfolio on Adolescent Content here!

Chloe Feller

Chloe Feller is a Los Angeles-based producer who worked with Hobbes Ginsburg to create and found the production company Red Lighter Films. Chloe is also an actress, activist, and filmmaker, and she studied producing at New York Film Academy. Through Chloe’s work at Red Lighter Films, she strives to bring intersectional feminism into film. She seeks to utilize film as a way to bring awareness and media representation to marginalized groups who have historically been underrepresented in film and media. Chloe’s work has been featured in Dazed, i-D, Vice Art Slant, and many more publications. For Chloe, Red Lighter Films works to “dismantle the institutions within the entertainment industry that exclude women, people of color, trans people, queer people, and other groups from excelling in the field of cinema.”

Check out Red Lighter Films here, and follow Chloe on Instagram here!

Emma Fernandez

Emma Fernandez is a director and photographer from Los Angeles now based in New York City while studying photography at Parsons. Emma’s Korean-Filipino background has greatly influenced her when it comes to finding inspiration and connecting with her family history through her art. Emma’s film work is rooted in narrative and personal storytelling. Emma has worked with Polaroid, Converse, Warby Parker, and more on photography campaigns and projects. Her videos The Sound Strings and Faces explore themes of nostalgia. Beyond photography, Emma is also skilled in sculpture work, filmmaking, and directing music videos. 

Follow Emma on Instagram and check out her portfolio here!

Ella Fields

Ella Fields is a student photographer and director from Los Angeles. She got her start in filmmaking in middle school, and has since directed, written, and edited over twelve short films. In her art, Ella explores and focuses on topics such as LGBTQ+ exposure and experiences, gun control, and gender stereotypes. Ella’s photography was featured in Getty Images in 2019, in which she captured how technology has transformed and changed teen sleepovers. Ella’s films have won awards at numerous film festivals across the globe, including San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ Coming of Age Short Films Festival, Los Angeles Cinefest, London X4 - Seasonal Film Festival, and many more. Stereo, a short film she directed at thirteen that explores reversed gender stereotypes, has gotten over 9 million views on YouTube. Stereo has been featured on sites such as The Huffington Post, PopSugar, and more. Recently, Ella started shooting with 35mm film and has since picked up shooting Super 8 film for videos.

Check out Ella’s films in her portfolio and follow her on YouTube!

Hobbes Ginsberg

Hobbes Ginsberg is New York City-based photographer, filmmaker, model, and half of the directing duo Red Lighter Films. Hobbes was first into street photography while growing up in Nicaragua, but her photographic practice has since expanded into editorial and fashion. Hobbes’s visual work has always stood out and been notable for its saturated and bright colors, intimate subject matter, and personal portrait work. Through Hobbes’s work at Red Lighter Films, she’s working to create a more diverse and accepting media landscape that includes more women, people of color, queer and trans people, and other marginalized groups. Hobbes’s work has been featured in numerous publications such as Vice, Lola Who, Dazed, and more. Hobbes’s two-year project STILL ALIVE, has evolved from a self-portrait series into a solo show and a book release on her 25th birthday. 

You can buy Hobbes’s photo book here, and check out Hobbes’s portfolio here

Myles Loftin

Myles Loftin is a freelance photographer, director, and recent graduate of Parsons in New York City. Within photography, Myles focuses on portraiture, fine art, and fashion photography. Some themes Myles explores in his art are Blackness, identity, and representation of marginalized individuals in the media. Myles has shot ads for Adidas, Under Armour, Opening Ceremony, Polaroids Original, and more. His photography has been published and featured in print publications such as New York, W, and Paper Magazine. In 2019, he was the recipient of Getty Images’ first-ever LGBTQ+ Stories Creative Bursary. Myles’ work has also been published in The Washington Post, Vice, Nylon, and more. Besides photography, Myles is an accomplished public speaker and has spoken at Yale University and Ludlow House in New York City. He was recently listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Arts and Style list in 2020. 

Check out Myles’ artistic portfolio here, and follow him on Instagram and Twitter as well!

Sierra Isley

Sierra Isley is a filmmaker, writer, and artist hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. She’s currently a student at Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts. Her start in film and documentary work came when she was in the fifth grade; her creative practice has since expanded into music videos, web series, and short films. One of Sierra’s coolest projects thus far is her fan-made web-series adaptation of the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan. Sierra has also worked with Guitar Center and Spotify on video work. Recently, Sierra created the web series No Comment, which was made for and by Atlanta teens. 

Follow Sierra on Instagram here and check out her portfolio and profile on Adolescent Content!

Miguel Limon

Miguel Limon is a Chicago-based photographer and artist. His photography focuses on beauty, fashion, and still life, with an emphasis on inclusivity and diversity. His photography practice is rooted in both film and digital photography. Some of the topics Miguel explores in his art include urban youth, the Latin-American experience, and queerness. Miguel is an extremely versatile artist whose artistic mediums also include graphic design and printmaking. His photography is personal and employs colors, experiences, people, and lighting to create an evocative and telling body of art. His fashion photography has been featured in publications such as Lithium Magazine, Vogue Italia, Visual Voices Magazine, Lewis Magazine, and many more. Miguel’s photography clients have also included VSCO, Converse, Vihanga.co, Foster Project, and Pets Add Life. 

Check out Miguel’s portfolio here and follow him on Instagram!

Schaël Marcéus

Schaël Marcéus is a cinematographer and photographer currently based in Montreal. He studied Film Production at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema of Concordia University. As a Black filmmaker and photographer, Schaël’s goal is to push for wider inclusion and representation. His photo series Never Was Average: Bodies and Tattoos is a visual narrative of male identity and body tattoos.. Schaël’s film work was screened at the Boston International Kids Film Festival, the Milan Online Festival, the Raindance Film Festival, and many more. His visual work has been published by VSCO, Dossier Magazine, Flanelle Magazine, and many others. 

Check out Schaël’s portfolio here, and check out his Vimeo and Instagram!

Sophie May

Sophie May is a freelance filmmaker and director currently living and working in Brussels, Belgium. Prior to moving to Belgium, Sophie worked in the United Kingdom, where she’s originally from. Through her video work, Sophie explores themes of sexuality, gender stereotypes, and the female experience. Her work is in part influenced by her childhood Catholic school education. In 2018, she wrote, directed, edited, and produced the film Thoughts of a Life Model, which explores her experience being a life model while studying abroad in Prague. The film seeks to explore and question objectification and nudity of models in art classes. Last fall, she also created the short film Mas-tur-ba-tion, commissioned by Adolescent. Currently, Sophie is working on a short documentary called Brutal Neglect, which focuses on Hotel Thermal, a Brutalist hotel in Prague, Czech Republic, and the significance behind its reconstruction. Brutal Neglect is slated to be released in late 2020 or 2021. 

Follow Sophie’s Instagram and check out updates and her videos in her portfolio!

Sita McVay

Sita McVay is a photographer and director originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Her interest in photography began at age 10 when she started taking pictures of her family. Some of the topics Sita has explored in her art include sexuality, coming out in a small town, and reconciling politics with religion. In 2019, Sita represented Adolescent Content at SX2019 in Austin, Texas, where she spoke on a panel titled “The Future of Gender Identities in Art and Media.” This panel sought to explore how Gen-Z artists are exploring masculine and feminine societal norms, gender identities, ways to support a new generation of LGBTQ+ creators, and better representation of marginalized communities in the media. In 2020, she directed the video A Conversation About Mental Illness, a documentary-style video that explores her friends’ different experiences with mental illness. The video is an extremely personal, evocative, and honest account of symptoms, treatments, diagnoses, and more. 

Follow Sita’s Instagram and check out her photography portfolio and profile on Adolescent!

Laurence Philomene

Laurence Philomene is a Quebec-based photographer and graduate of Dawson College, where they studied commercial photography. Their primary focuses include documentary, fine art, and self-portraiture as a means of highlighting queer and trans experiences and identities. Laurence seeks to integrate autobiographical themes into their art. As a non-binary transgender artist, Laurence’s work aims to celebrate trans existence. Laurence’s photography has been shown in exhibitions in Copenhagen, New York City, Amsterdam, and beyond. Their clients have included Teen Vogue, The Washington Post, Beats by Dre, Netflix, Showtime, Converse, Vice, and many others. In 2019, Laurence was the recipient of the Lucie Foundation Emerging Artist Scholarship. They also served as a judge for the 2019 Getty Images Creative Bursary. 

Check out Laurence’s portfolio here as well as their Facebook and Instagram!

Iris Ray

Iris Ray is a photographer based in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating from The Creative Circus in Atlanta, Iris relocated to Los Angeles for work. In L.A., Iris photographed for brands such as Benefit Cosmetics, Urban Outfitters, and more. Her photography has been published in The Cut, Polyester, WUSSY Mag, Beauty Launchpad, and The Photographic Journal. Iris’s photo series are notable for their use of vibrant colors. Iris’s past clients include Houseparty, Uber, Nike, Gushers, and more. Earlier this year, Iris photographed Wldkat’s Natural Habitat campaign for their launch set. 

Follow Iris’s Instagram here and check out her profile and portfolio on Adolescent!

Rachael Rios Rehm 

Rachael Rios Rehm is a director, photographer, and artist raised from Lake George, New York. At 10 years old, Rach started with still photography, and from there started to experiment with cinematography and narrative storytelling. After high school, Rach moved to Sarasota, Florida to study film at Ringling College of Art and Design. Her start in the film industry began with working as the Art Department Coordinator on director Kevin Smith’s film Kilroy Was Here. She has also worked on Mozart in the Jungle, NBC’s Blindspot, and her film Rouge was screened during the Cannes Film Festival in both the Short Film and Student Director category. Currently, Rach is a full-time freelance director based in Brooklyn. As of 2020, Rach is working to produce the short film Bush, which explores a high school senior’s coming-of-age journey with societal stereotypes surrounding pubic hair. Rach is also the creator of Magic Forest Productions. 

Follow Rach’s Instagram!

Kiele Twaroski

Kiele Twaroski is a photographer, filmmaker, writer, and artist from the suburbs of Chicago who studied photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Her art has been in exhibitions that have spanned the globe, from Los Angeles to France to Georgia. Last month, Kiele had her photography published in New York Magazine. Her clients have included Converse, Mad Hippie, Mejuri, Poppy Chain, Amanda de Cadenet for Warby Parker, and more. She’s been featured in Teen Vogue, Pure Nowhere, Local Wolves, Huffington Post, On Loan From the Cosmos, and more. Kiele’s photography is centered on themes of femininity, nostalgia, and intimacy. Her photography is dream-like, emphasizing and playing with color and light. Kiele’s photo essays for Adolescent Content have explored her experiences with mental health and art therapy. 

Follow Kiele on Instagram and check out her portfolio here!