DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Racism in Western fashion prompts photographer to quit

Dec 9, 2021 by Alex Baker 9 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Well-known fashion photographer Jingna Zhang has announced that she has decided to no longer engage in fashion photography, citing an unforgiving uphill battle against racism in the Western Magazine market as one of the reasons for quitting.

The announcement came as a major blow to Zhang’s many followers and fans who had looked to her as an inspiration, particularly among other Asian female aspiring photographers. She was a regular feature in many high profile fashion magazines, including cover images on Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jingna Zhang 张晶娜 (@zemotion)

In a post uploaded to both Facebook and Instagram, Zhang recounts a portfolio review with “an editor from a prestigious magazine”.

I don’t remember the exact words but the gist of it was like “I’m sure this aesthetic—*gestures at my covers*—works back where you’re from. But these perfect brows, black hair, red lips—it’s just too much. It’s wrong for the western market.”

– Jingna Zhang

She continues “Have you … seen me? Black hair red lips perfect brows. Just tell me my taste sucks or my eye isn’t good enough, which can all be true! But this particular way of delivery, especially when I think is unintended, just felt like a rejection of my entire culture”.

Zhang admits that after this review she went home and cried for two weeks, knowing full well that the progression of her career had hit the proverbial glass ceiling, she knew that she would not be working for a Western magazine in the future.

Zhang also says that the encounter with the editor was a triggering moment for her. As an immigrant to Singapore from Beijing aged 8, she experienced racism and xenophobia with people telling her to “go back to where she came from”. The editor used the words “back where you’re from” which Zhang says provoked a negative response after years of hearing that as a child.

Her point is not that people feel sorry for her, but rather to highlight that the decision-makers at the top level of the fashion world tend to have a fixed and not very worldly view of what constitutes beauty. What we value in one part of the world is not necessarily the same in other parts and Zhang was made to feel bad by celebrating things that are not considered to be in step with the rest of the fashion world. She is not the first Asian photographer to come under fire recently for her depiction of Asian women in the fashion world.

I imagine that her decision to step away from fashion photography is a lot more complex than just one rejection from one editor. I believe she is simply using that as one example. Somebody as successful as Zhang doesn’t walk away from something just because of one rejection. Her work is beautiful and I hope that she can move forward in the work and aesthetic that she wants to create without having to compromise her artistic vision to be constricted into conforming to Western fashion culture.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Rafal Makiela - Dubai Underwater Fashion PhotographerShooting underwater fashion, is just like shooting fashion, only 20 times harder This Fashion 101 course shows you how to shoot and break into the world of fashion photography Three things to consider before you quit your job to become a full-time photographer This photographer quit her job three years ago to photograph women around the world

Filed Under: news Tagged With: fashion photographer, Jingna Zhang, Racism

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.net

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

« Instagram is finally bringing back chronological Feed
Telephoto landscape photography above the clouds »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Learn photography

Recent Posts

  • The Fotodiox RhinoCam Vertex shoots medium format images on L mount cameras
  • San Francisco filmmaker tracks stolen camera gear, police do nothing
  • Nanlite announces powerful AC-powered FC500B and FC300B LED lights
  • The Laowa Aurogon is a full-frame 10-50x super micro APO lens kit
  • Watch: Amateur astronomer captures a rare giant fireball on Jupiter

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy