How far can photography go in reshaping narratives? For Cristian Maciel, it’s more than just taking pictures. It is about giving a voice to underrepresented stories.
Like many of us, Cristian Maciel was drawn to photography for its ability to capture emotions. But for him, the real connection lies in documenting Afro-Brazilian culture and challenging stereotypes. And, it seems, the most beautiful work will blossom from the subjects you are most connected with.
As an artist deeply invested in his community, Cristian uses his lens to shed light on the richness of Black culture in Brazil, a subject historically overlooked in portrait photography. While his work flawlessly showcases the beauty of these people and proves they, too, are more than worthy of space in editorial photography, it does come with challenges.
Here’s our conversation with Create Fund winner and photographer Cristian Maciel, where we dive into his journey, creative process, and the impact of his work.
Shutterstock: Hi Cristian. To start, I’d love to know what got you into photography, and why did you stick with it?
Cristian Maciel: It’s funny, before I became a photographer, I wanted to be a designer, but I gave up on that idea halfway through. In 2018, my brother gave me an amateur camera, which made me curious about photography. I photographed plants, family members, animals, places, etc.
Today, I have a degree in photography. As time went by, I started to like photography more and developed a certain eye for it, especially for photographs of Black people—our culture and experiences.
SSTK: What encouraged you to study photography? Was it scary to take a more creative path in college versus the usual business degree? What was your experience like?
Maciel: I was really worried about going to college to study photography, to be honest. I remember thinking something like, “Do I really need to go to college to study photography?”
I remember that, at the time, I even thought about not accepting the scholarship I got, to be honest. But my family convinced me.
In general, we are not really encouraged to go to college in creative areas or those that involve the arts; there is always a lot of prejudice in society when we think about these areas. It’s like you said, people usually think of areas like administration, accounting, etc.
In the end, the experience was incredible. I was able to access content that I wouldn’t easily find on YouTube or Google. In-depth content about art history, photography, and many other details that changed my view of photography and made me see it as an art form and not just as photos.
SSTK: Is this your full-time job now? How long have you been photographing professionally?
Maciel: Photography is my full-time job and has been since 2021. It was when I really committed to photography in the post-pandemic market.
The pandemic, in a way, made me study more and explore my perspective on photography with more introspective moments, which helped me understand what I would like to convey with my photos and art.
SSTK: You’re in the portrait and editorial spaces, right? Why this?
Maciel: I have always had a greater affinity with the portrait and editorial market. I have worked in several areas, such as food photography, events, weddings . . . but what fascinates me in the area of portraits and editorials are the concepts and how I can explore them. I love working with concepts. I am a person who values organization a lot and these two areas allow me to develop the concept and script for the photos.
My work is focused on Afro-Brazilian culture. I love portraying this. Historically, the Black community has never been favored by the editorial and portrait photography market, and I want to give it a new meaning.
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When I portray people in my niche and see that this is a way of portraying my culture and promoting these people’s self-esteem, I am delighted. Each work is unique and each person and story is unique.
SSTK: I love this particular collection you have on Shutterstock, the Afro-Brazilian Religion. Can you tell me more about it? What is this project about, and how did it start?
Maciel: I’m glad you like this collection; it’s very special to me. This project started in 2021 with the idea of portraying the religion I belong to, called “Umbanda.” It is a religion that has connections to Africa, but is entirely Brazilian and indigenous, created by the people of the African diaspora for Brazil. That’s why the name is “Afro-Brazilian Religion.”
In this project, I seek to portray the Orixas, which are African deities, and all the myth that surrounds them, the entire culture around it, the clothing, accessories, colors, and dances. I still have more photos on the subject to publish on Shutterstock and I’m looking forward to it.
The project started when I saw the need to portray the religion through a more sensitive perspective, from someone who is actually part of the religion and who knows the customs, rituals, and dances.
Afro-Brazilian religions, oddly enough, suffer a lot of prejudice in Brazil, and with my photos, I try to subvert this—this idea and this concept.
SSTK: What are the challenges of having religion, religious rituals, and the likes, as your main subject? I’m guessing it’s not the same approach as editorial and commercial work?
Maciel: It’s really challenging when I take photos in this area because I have to be very careful about how I portray people, especially because some rituals cannot be exposed, so I don’t publish some photos publicly.
And because it’s a religion that is not as widely worshiped as Catholicism and other more famous religions, there’s also the issue of religious intolerance in Brazil, which is very common in religions of African origin. So, the photos aren’t always well-received here, and that’s one of the problems I have to deal with.
It doesn’t have the same approach as editorial and commercial photos. They’re not photos intended to sell; they end up going towards a more intimate and artistic side.
But there’s also a very positive aspect. Because of that, I get a lot of clients who are also of the same religion and who insist on [me] taking photos [of them] similar to what I do; it’s a matter of identification and representation for them, too. And I’m always happy to know that other people identify with it.
SSTK: What’s your favorite part of being a photographer?
Maciel: My favorite part of being a photographer is being able to document a part of history with my portraits. Photography is a way of recording history, and it is incredible to me.
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SSTK: When you say history, what do you mean by that?
Maciel: I believe that photography has taken on an important role in preserving moments in history. For example, you and your family probably have old photos that you cherish and that give you a sense of nostalgia. When I say “history,” this is what I mean.
Many of my clients are “ordinary” people, and these photos will be kept by them and shown to their children, relatives, etc. Photography plays an important role in documenting different times and people.
SSTK: What is one thing you wish you knew early on about being in this industry?
Maciel: I think what I wish I had known from the beginning is that photography and things change and evolve over time. At first, I had a lot of difficulty with this, and this ended up delaying my learning and evolution.
Today, I try to specialize more and I put more and more effort into this.
SSTK: What specific changes have you experienced that impacted you the most or pushed you to really grow as a photographer?
Maciel: The biggest change has undoubtedly been the issue of representation and diversity in the current photography market. I believe that things are improving every year, even if it’s slowly.
In other times, it would have been impossible to see other cultures in advertisements and commercials. Black, Latin, African, and Asian people were not favored within the industry, and I believe that little by little, this is changing.
This initiative by Shutterstock, with The Create Fund, is very good for encouraging photos with diverse people and cultures. And I’m very happy about that.
The market is much bigger and brands and companies have understood that these people also consume and generate content, especially if it’s from someone they identify with.
I’m a photographer who is from and represents Black culture, and I’ve often had difficulty getting “bigger” clients because when they looked at my portfolio and saw mostly Black people, they didn’t like it and this is very true in the market.
Nowadays, I have it much easier because of the new movement of diversity and representation where brands and companies are seeking to generate a catalog with more diverse models and professionals. And I don’t want to limit myself to just that. In the future, I want to travel to record other cultures, people, and customs.
SSTK: To wrap up, how has The Create Fund impacted you as a photographer and a creative?
Maciel: The Create Fund had a very positive impact on me. It opened my eyes to the advertising markets and how they needed diversity and new perspectives.
I didn’t know about this market and I didn’t know how challenging it was. It’s a completely different way of creating than what I was used to. I’ve always worked on my creativity in a more conceptual and editorial way, and The Create Fund made me understand that, sometimes, something “simpler” works and is also art.
Today, I’m definitely studying to be part of this stock market, and that’s all thanks to The Create Fund. I see my work and creative environment in a very different way today, and I’m grateful for all the mentoring and help.
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This post was originally published onOctober 8, 2024
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