Photographer Flo Ngala Teaches Us "It's All About The Objective"
New York, New York
Flo Ngala
10/24/19
Years of being her own muse taught the 24 year old photographer and visual artist how to capture high profile clients including Cardi B. and Gucci Mane at their most candid state.
Is there an overarching message you aim to deliver with your body of work? If so, what is it?
I'm just creating from a place of authenticity and always trying to convey what I feel or how I feel. That is always when I have made the best work and what people's overall take away of my work has always been.
Tumblr sparked your initial curiosity for images and photography. Do you feel that social media still influences your work now? If so, how?
Definitely, but now I would say it's sort of both for the better and the worse. Before with Tumblr it was more so like the things I wanted to see with art and image making. Nowadays with social media everything is in place, I find it way easier to get sidetracked and end up on like a random person's Instagram, or be scrolling endlessly through stories. You have to really take control of your mind to stay afloat in the digital age of social media.
Being the first subject of your own work has taught you a lot about yourself for example, how to pose and control your face. Are there any deeper more intrinsic things about yourself that you’ve discovered from being your own muse?
My intuition has been sharpened without a doubt, being in front of and behind the camera allows me to really tap into like ok I like this, I don't like this. This works, this is wack, with a quickness. So I've sort of just learned that I'm pretty decisive about things!
What do you think about claims that selfie culture has grown to be obsessive or even damaging?
I think those are true, I think it's all about the objective. There are artists that use themselves as muses and aim to create art when putting themselves in front of the lens. And then there are teenagers who will not post a single image without a Snapchat filter. To me one is more damaging than the other because there are different goals in mind. Loving the real us is becoming harder because we're fed all these small enhancements and beautifications that make our eyes bigger slim our noses or faces, etc. So even a selfie has changed and become a bit more damaging. I think if and when possible it's just good to check yourself on it and make sure you're loving you for you.
You believe that every one desires to control their narrative. As it transfers from you capturing yourself to you capturing other individuals, do you feel that your subjects are able to hold the same control that you hold when documenting yourself?
It's definitely a different muscle being used, I try to make people feel little to no self consciousness about themselves when being photographed, when I can. I think when people are being captured it's hard to not help it and I find that when I'm documenting myself I can be a lot more at ease because no one else is around. This has helped me for sure with figuring out how to direct and pose my subjects when I need to.
You capture your celeb subject in a way that feels intimate and allows viewers what feels like a warm, exclusive peek at their life. What do you feel is necessary (from both you and your subjects) to successfully document them in this way?
Honesty, humility, humanity. I respect these people first and foremost, they're making a living and living their lives, feeding their families and making an impact in their own ways. But I do not idolize celebrities which also comes with me knowing myself and being pragmatic about my approach to my job, I never want to get caught up.
What apps do you use on a regular basis?
I love Instagram most haha, then VSCO is like my saving grace, I've been obsessed with it since high school. I'm trying to get more apps for freelancing to make my life go a bit smoother and have some more structure going into 2020!
Is there a particular theme or subject you enjoy capturing most?
People, life happening as it is, things that feel real to me.
