bio / isabelle zhao
isabelle zhao is a midwestern-raised, brooklyn-based chinese american photographer. a (former) pessimist, she considers image-making her best attempt at optimism—an insistence on beauty. every image she makes begins with an interrogation of her own assumptions and biases about the world. for her, photography is a process of unlearning.
"velonika"
(not for sale)
"aamina"
(not for sale)
in a media landscape saturated with reductive depictions of the female body, i wanted to create a visual space where women could simply be. the nudity in these images is unremarkable—human and routine.
each image was made in collaboration with the subject, allowing her to decide how she wanted to be photographed. the women in this series are not performing for the viewer—they are simply existing on their own terms. this shift in directorship is central to the portraits: it resists our voyeuristic impulses and instead invites a more ethical, consensual gaze.
shortlisted for photovogue's women by women award
isabelle zhao is a midwestern-raised, brooklyn-based chinese american photographer. a (former) pessimist, she considers image-making her best attempt at optimism—an insistence on beauty. every image she makes begins with an interrogation of her own assumptions and biases about the world. for her, photography is a process of unlearning.
"velonika"
(not for sale)
"aamina"
(not for sale)
in a media landscape saturated with reductive depictions of the female body, i wanted to create a visual space where women could simply be. the nudity in these images is unremarkable—human and routine.
each image was made in collaboration with the subject, allowing her to decide how she wanted to be photographed. the women in this series are not performing for the viewer—they are simply existing on their own terms. this shift in directorship is central to the portraits: it resists our voyeuristic impulses and instead invites a more ethical, consensual gaze.
shortlisted for photovogue's women by women award