Kwaku Alston — foureleven

Photo by Per Bernal

Kwaku Alston

Capturing the world and spreading the love.

Kwaku has photographed some of the most famous faces of our time—from Oscar and Grammy winners to Barack Obama and the First Family. His many and diverse clients include The New York Times Magazine, Time and Essence Magazine, global brands like Amgen, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Target and Verizon, and media giants such as Universal Studios, Walt Disney Motion Pictures, Amazon, Sony Pictures, Columbia Motion Pictures Group, Netflix, Amazon, Starz, Facebook, Sony Music and ESPN. His portraits have a fresh, unaffected feel, and yet they celebrate the extraordinariness of his subjects, striking a balance between contemporary documentary photography and classic celebrity portraiture.

After graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology, Kwaku launched his career in New York City and began shooting for major magazines and ad agencies while in his early 20s. Today he bases himself out of both New York and Los Angeles and his photos have appeared on everything from movie posters to the covers of best selling books to advertising spreads for international brands such as Apple and HBO. He regularly works with The Hollywood Reporter to create cover stories for their Actor’s Roundtable series.

Kwaku has also partnered with a variety of charities and nonprofits, including Valence Community, DesignACure Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, the Black AIDS Institute, and the Smiley Faces Foundation. Giving both his work and his time, he traveled to Ethiopia to document a “shoe drop” by TOMS Shoes, which donates footwear to children in need worldwide.

Kwaku’s world travels continue to inform his work and remind him that curiosity, encouragement and sincerity are universal languages. As the Director of Photography on a documentary titled In Search of Voodoo, he has made multiple trips to West Africa, and is inspired to bridge still photography and filmmaking to tell great stories. He also directed a short film Alone in response to the Malibu wildfires of 2018.

Recent News

11.22.24 l USPS Stamp 2025 Featuring Betty White

BTS Video

Behind the Scenes

Stories

4.27.24 l Behind the scenes of our latest production in Atlanta. The magic unfolded thanks to an incredible team of producers, creative directors, agents, publicists, talent relations experts, digital techs, photo assistants, and our dedicated photo production teams. It truly takes a village of talented and positive-minded individuals to create something truly spectacular. I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my Atlanta Team for their unwavering support and infectious good attitude throughout this journey. Thank you for bringing your creativity and passion to the table every step of the way.

3.24.24 l Just finished a legendary assignment for a major studio — results coming out next year so top secret for now. Shooting stills was amazing and then to add on the motion component directed by yours truly with DP @jeffv0 was the cherry on top.

2.26.14 l This is the last week of my show at @leicagalleryla ! We wrap it up March 4th. If you haven’t already, I invite you to stop by and see my work Egungun: The Spirit Catchers of Benin and Mathieu Bitton’s @candytman Paris Blues series — he just gave a great artist talk yesterday that was a pleasure to attend.

1.14.24 l Come by @leicagalleryla to see my personal work Egungun- The Spirit Catchers of Benin. On display until March 4th, 2024. Look out for our upcoming artist talk. 📸🖖🏾

11.12.23 l Sneak peek of an amazing shoot with @venuswilliams for @experiencelifemagazine in West Palm Beach last week. Thank you Team! 📸#lifestyle #healthandwellness #btsphotoshoot #venuswilliams

11.8.23 l Standing Room Only. Thank you @perbernalphoto @paris.chong and @leicacamerausa for this incredible celebration of our wonderful photography community. ❤️📸🙏🏽

10.20.23 l Spicing up the autumn vibes with @MaxineAshley, don't forget to give her latest single "Somebody Else" a listen; it's available for streaming now. 🔥🎶

7.7.23 l Some exciting Chase Freedom digital billboard action starring Kevin Hart and Steph Curry! These motion spots marked my first gig of 2023, and I couldn't have asked for a better production. Great talent all around made our mission to craft a hype video with dynamic movement all the more fun and engaging.

4.27.21 l The Two Million Dollar Diamond Team - Oscars Night with @mingey Celebrity stylist @ElizabethStewart1 and I met on a Hollywood Reporter shoot when I was assigned to photograph Julia Roberts and Elizabeth for the cover of the style issue. She reached out to me last week to see if I was interested in photographing Amanda Seyfried in @giorgioarmani on #OscarsNight. And with an enthusiastic “YES!”— so began the whirlwind that led us to these photographs.

1.11.20 l Back in the day before color negative was acceptable we used chromes(color slide). Knowing your exposure and the latitude of the film were key to getting a good image. Pushing or pulling your exposure during processing was a art form rarely seen today. Lab technicians worked side by side with photographers to help them get the most out of their images. Editing some work for book project and came across these film clip test of @mslaurynhill shot for the cover of @time with photo editor @m_tobias123 back in 1998. #kwakualstonarchive #hiphophistory #laury anhill #photoediting

6.23.20 l Together with a tight crew of adventurous creative spirits, we traveled to the Bay Area in the days and moments before the country went into stay-at-home quarantine in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. We filmed a historic dialogue between the revoutionary artist and former Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party- Emory Douglas, and the iconic director Spike Lee. Emory was commissioned by Netflix to design the movie poster for Spike's powerful new film Da 5 Bloods.

Collections

All prints and collections available to order at Kwakushop ︎︎︎

Articles

Videos, Podcasts & Interviews

Client List

The New York Times
Time Magazine
Essence Magazine
The Hollywood Reporter
HBO
Netflix
CBS Network
Disney
Billboard Magazine

Universal Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Warner Bros.
Jazz at Lincoln Center
National Geographic
Comedy Central
Starz
Nickelodeon
OWN Network

ABC Network
Sony Music
ESPN
Apple
Sprite
Coca-Cola
CW Network
Facebook Watch
Amazon

Target
Amgen
AARP
Audible
TOMS
Pfizer
Valence
Chase Bank
Courvoisier

Celebrity List

Barack Obama
Michelle Obama
Muhammad Ali
Maya Angelou
Beyonce
Spike Lee
Chadwick Boseman
Shonda Rhimes
Janet Jackson
Tracee Ellis Ross
John Oliver
Nelson Mandela
Eve
Tyrese Gibson

Lebron James
Lupita Nyong’o
Ava DuVernay
Serena Williams
Tiger Woods
Kevin Hart
Issa Rae
Michael B. Jordan
Regina Hall
Awkwafina
Pusha-T
Kerry Washington
Donald Glover
Naomie Harris

Michelle Obama
Trevor Noah
Jennifer Lopez
Queen Latifah
Oprah Winfrey
Taraji P. Henson
Kumail Nanjiani
Elisabeth Moss
Laverne Cox
Rachel McAdams
Lebron James
Marsai Martin
Omari Hardwick
Alfre Woodard

Willie Nelson
Dwayne Johnson
Questlove
Samuel L. Jackson
Lenny Kravitz
Shaquille O’ Neale
Cynthia Erivo
Lena Waithe
Julia Roberts
Scarlett Johansson
Djimon Hounsou
Kane Brown
Naturi Naughton
Seth Rogen

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