To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we curated a list of 10 AAPI TikTok photographers you need to follow. From the east coast to the west coast (and sometimes both), these photographers’ dynamic TikTok portfolios will make you want to pick up the nearest 35mm and start shooting ASAP.
1. Megan Collante @babybabingka
Megan Collante is a Filipino-American photographer and creative living NYC with an extensive portfolio of both video and photography. With especially dynamic behind the scenes clips of her photography shoots, her TikTok is also home to funny snippets of daily life for a cool blend of personality and talent.
2. Evelyn Rude @evelynrude02
Calling both Atlanta and NYC home, Evelyn Rude is a fashion photographer and creative who uses the warm light of the South to her advantage whenever possible. If you’re a fellow creative looking for a collab, head over to her TikTok and give her a follow.
3. David Suh @davidsuh
With 3.9M followers on TikTok, David Suh is already quite an established photographer. Known for his pose coaching, check out David for funny clips of celebrity red carpet pose critiques alongside his own photography portfolio.
4. Sarah Ohta @sarahohta
Sarah Ohta is an LA photographer with a very fun job: she photographs concerts and she does it well. With how-to’s on concert photography and behind the scenes clips, head over to her TikTok for close-ups of bands like Glass Animals and Ashe and enjoy her captured moments from the pit.
5. Tommy Tran @tommytranxx
Working between NYC and the Bay Area, this east coast-west coast photographer likes to throw a green screen into the mix to shake things up. Like many GenZ’s, Tommy’s TikTok portfolio is very Y2K-reminiscent with that heavy glow for quite the dreamy edit.
6. Nance @nancepantss
Give Nance a follow for some liminal views on film of her travels around the globe through the lens of her 35mm. This frequent flier turns her work travel into a photo op with every chance she gets with short vlogs and funny editing clips - which totally works for us!
7. Stephanie Shih @thisisshih
Stephanie Shih is a photographer and professor in LA shaking up the art world with her still life photography. Her incredibly detailed work focuses on the Asian American experiences through still life and is beautifully reminiscent of the Dutch masters, specifically that of Rachel Ruysch. Stephanie’s work is set to appear in an exhibit on food art at the Hashimoto Contemporary gallery.
8. Sravya Balasa @sravybalasa
While she only has a few videos on her TikTok currently, Sravya Balasa gives us a sneak peak into her talent through a few behind the scene clips featuring an at-home projector. She’s a lead photographer for TREND, a student-run fashion and lifestyle mag on her campus, and also photographs for Rice and Spice, a magazine focused on elevating the voices of Asian American youth.
9. Katelin Ayayo @katelinayayo
When she’s not shooting for Rice and Spice mag, Katelin Ayayo is sharing insanely creative peaks into her shoots on TikTok. As a portrait photographer based in Orange County, California, she takes full advantage of her environment and captures her clients in a variety of desert, sunny, and beachy locations.
10. Erin Donahue @niredonahue
Erin Donahue is a travel and brand photographer in NYC with a very lively TikTok portfolio. Along with the classic behind the scenes clips, she also shares some photo editing tips and tricks in front of her infamous pink backdrop.
