NPR

Tyler Mitchell On Being The First African-American To Photograph A 'Vogue' Cover

When Vogue unveiled its September cover, the Internet took notice, partly because Beyoncé graces the cover, but also because of the photographer behind those images.
An image from Mitchell's book about Havana, <em>El Paquete.</em>

When Vogue unveiled its annual fashion issue earlier this month, the Internet took notice — not just because Beyoncé graced the cover but also because of the photographer behind the image.

That credit goes to Tyler Mitchell, a 23-year-old from Atlanta who became the first African-American photographer to shoot a Vogue cover in the magazine's 125-year history.

"Photographers live their whole life to shoot this cover slot in this month," Mitchell told host Audie Cornish. "But I think I kind of approached it with a kind of practicality of trying to shoot [Beyoncé], like how I would shoot

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