Apr 2026 · 8 min read
Booking Feb–May 2027 · Lagos + London
Kwabena
Asare
Second Chair · London · 2025
// currently_working
I make quiet, portrait-forward images for editorial, fashion and cultural clients — mostly across West Africa, and increasingly abroad.
7
Years shooting
62
Editorials shot
9
Countries worked
2027
Book releasing
// portfolio
Selected images.
Second Chair · London · 2025
Vogue Africa · Dec 2025
Osei Duro · SS26
Hands · Personal · 2024
The Kingsway · Editorial · 2024
Ọjà Òrun · Personal · 2023
Kojo · Portrait · 2025
Founder series · Press · 2025
// personal_series
Second Chair · London
Personal series · Book 2027
A long-form documentary project photographed on Portra 400 and HP5. 22 barbers, 8 shops, mostly in Peckham and Hackney. Publishing as a hardcover monograph in Spring 2027 with a foreword by Ekow Eshun.
- 22 sitters across 8 shops, photographed on 35mm
- Publishing as a hardcover in Spring 2027
- Extract shown at Autograph ABP, London — Jun 2026
“Second Chair is one of the most important documentary projects coming out of the diaspora right now.”
— Ekow Eshun, Curator & writer
// press_&_clients
What editors and clients say.
“Kwabena reads a room quickly, then quietly. Our December cover came together in a way that felt inevitable.”
SM
Suzy Menkes
Editor-at-large
“The campaign was one of the calmest sets we've ever been on. It shows in the pictures.”
MS
Molly Sadowitz
Creative director
“He photographed my father before he passed. Those three portraits are the most important pictures in our family.”
AB
Ama Boateng
Private commission
“Second Chair is one of the most important documentary projects coming out of the diaspora right now.”
EE
Ekow Eshun
Curator & writer
“First print I bought was a Kwabena. Second and third too.”
DA
David A.
Collector
“Deep archive of image references, real technical craft, and a very light touch on set. Everything I want in a fashion photographer.”
IK
Ib Kamara
Stylist & editor
// the_photographer
Kwabena Asare
Editorial · portrait · fashion campaigns
I've been shooting professionally for seven years — first as a fashion assistant in Lagos, then as a staff photographer for a Ghanaian magazine, and independently since 2022.
The work sits in the space between editorial portrait and quiet fashion — often 35mm film, always available-light where possible.
I take on eight to twelve commissioned projects a year, and one long-running personal series (currently: a book on second-generation Ghanaian barbers in London, out 2027).
// gear
Leica M6Contax T3Hasselblad 500 C/MSony A7 IVPortra 400 / 800HP5 pushed to 1600
// journal
Field notes.
Feb 2026 · 6 min read
Why I still shoot Portra 400 on almost every editorial.
Jan 2026 · 12 min read
How I price a shoot — a note to younger photographers.
// print_list
Get first access to signed print drops.
Two releases a year — Spring and Autumn. Editions of 25. Fibre-based archival paper, printed in London.
One email per drop · unsubscribe any time.
// common_questions
Before you book.
Send a short brief through the booking page — dates, city, kind of shoot, and end use. I'll come back with availability within two working days.
// ready
Working on something?
Send a short brief. I typically respond within two working days.