Strike a pose in front of Justin French’s camera and you’ll find your image immortalized. The self-taught photographer and director uses his camera to explore the human condition, and creating modern mythos through classical portraiture. The fashion and media worlds took notice and his clients include Netflix, Michael Kors, Balmain, <em>Rolling Stone</em> and <em>Vogue</em>. This year, he photographed tennis phenom Venus Williams for <em>Cultured</em>, Emmy winner Ayo Edebiri for <em>Citizen</em>, and Victoria Monét for <em>Dazed</em>. French also directed <em>The New York Times’ T Magazine</em>’s “When I Was Thirty” series, a collection of stories of creatives featuring playwright Michael R. Jackson, actor BD Wong, nightlife icon Lady Bunny, multi-hyphenate performer Juliana Huxtable and Broadway legend André DeShields. French is creating a new Black visual archive and giving us life. — J.S.M.