Bio: 

William Bigby is a photographer from the Los Angeles area, and attends NYU Gallatin. William’s love for photography started when he was an 8th grader living through the Covid-19 Pandemic. His parents bought him a camera for Christmas as they wanted him to pick up a hobby in which he could express himself. Without taking any classes, William excelled in portraiture. He quickly grasped the concepts of lighting and composition, exploring them using himself as his own model. Over time, his skill and knowledge of how to conceptualize images, and use the camera became sound. He is inspired by many artists such as LaToya Ruby Frazier, Andre Wagner, Wolfgang Tillmans, Tyler Mitchell, as they convey stories through lighting, composition, and subject. His favorite photo being Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’ cover by Tillmans. William’s work is centered around themes of self-expression, and the liberation of both himself and the Black community as a whole from false racial stereotypes. William has won gold at the state level of NAACP ACT-SO a total of two times for photography (2022 and 23), and has won silver at the national level once (2022). He was a YoungArts Winner with Distinction in photography in 2024, where his work was featured on the cover of Cultured Magazine’s online promotion for YoungArts week. He has been featured in PhotoVogue three times, and wants to continue to devote his life to challenging the status quo with his images.