Photographer Flo Ngala Remembers Shooting Kamala Harris. Here’s How She Made Her Laugh

AGE: 29
BASED IN: New York
NOMINATED BY: Dawoud Bey

I was 12 or 13 when I discovered photography. I had recently lost my dad, and I had just started at this private school. I was aware that I did not meet the social norms of that setting. When I found photography, I felt like I found my identity. I would go home [to Harlem] and turn my lens on my community. I remember thinking, Why do people take pictures of still lifes and landscapes? People are way more interesting.

It was comforting to be living vicariously through others. It’s a secondhand experience—that was what originally fascinated me with photography. When I was working with Cardi B, I would get one minute, or something ridiculous like that, between music video shoots to capture stills. In hindsight, I think about a young Flo on the train, or a young Flo in Harlem—situations where you don’t really have time to miss your shot. Maybe it’s a stranger, or the light might change, or someone might move. During a shoot, there’s no way, even if I am super prepared, that I can know everything that is about to go on. I have to just release and surrender.

But working under pressure is about being yourself. I shot Kamala Harris, and I was so grateful to have made her laugh. I’m quite charismatic and my energy and personality definitely land well with people, but first and foremost, it’s just about being there, making sure you get the job done, and being trusted to get the job done.