Sophia Wilson‘s story sounds like an urban fairy tale: a photography career that began at the age of 12 on Instagram, success and collaborations with publications such as Vogue, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and campaigns with Nike, Meta, and Google. There’s also a TV show – The Come Up – where Wilson, along with five other creatives living in New York, tells her story and discusses the cost of success in the metropolis. Sophia Wilson’s photographs are exclusively shot on film, and she develops them by hand in her darkroom. Her shots speak of girlhood – a theme close to her heart – and womanhood without leaving behind a strong component of Black Culture and with a great emphasis on diversity.

Sophia Wilson and the beginnings of Instagram

Hypebae interviewed Sophia Wilson, who – while talking in her studio – goes through all the stages of her career. Specifically, she also opens up a discussion on the importance of representation, a theme she has cared about since the birth of Instagram. It was precisely at that historical moment that a very young Sophia Wilson began to publish on the still nascent social platform, thinking it was the right way to be recognized as a photographer. A perfectly successful plan that – ten years later – has made her one of the coolest creatives around.

The quality that distinguishes Sophia Wilson’s work lies in the development of photographs taken on film. The colors are vibrant, and what her shots tell always involves themes related to diversity, the transition to adulthood – a sort of enhanced Gen Z coming of age – but above all, to black womanhood. In short, the phenomenon of Sophia Wilson was born and continues to live in the New York City metropolis, since the times when the photographer took the subway alone at eight years old, as she recounted to office a few months ago. Hence her strength and perseverance, clearly reflected in the girlhood – which then transformed into womanhood – told with genuineness in her shots.

ph. courtesy Sophia Wilson