Fluid by Blake Little

Spotlight / Editorial Spotlight
Getty Images
Jun 11, 2021
Fluid by Blake Little

In 2017, photographer Blake Little embarked upon a portrait project, initially approaching people from California to capture the growing diversity of individuals on the ever‑expansive gender identity spectrum.

FLUID documents people who identify as trans, gender fluid, gender diverse, Two Spirit, non‑binary and other forms of gender‑based identification.

Within the simplicity of Little’s sets and lighting design, the photographer captures a range of complex details in his portrait subjects—from confident physiques, to the considered attire and body surfaces that each model offers. Each portrait further complicates our traditional understanding of the restrictive male/female binary, traveling along a visual and highly emotive spectrum, often skewing viewer expectations. 


Each model was invited to write a testimonial of whatever they wanted to be known about them.
"My photographic eye is guided by an aesthetic of simplicity, distillation & clarity. I want to apply this eye to make visible the many ways we read photographs and their subject matter (imagined and real) but particularly via a collaborative process as filtered through the voices of the people who posed for these photographs.'' ‑Blake Little
"Transgender identification, representation and image dissemination increasingly occupy the collective imagination and are reinforced by media headlines. Even as more and more trans, gender fluid, nonbinary and Two Spirit people are coming out in the public eye." ‑Blake Little
"The act of realizing/representing/revealing/ exposing/ exhibiting oneself through photography is a brave act, a form of defiance for a new wave of gender fluid pioneers reclaiming a broader live presence and virtual presence via social media. In the process, difference is being normalized." ‑Blake Little
As a company, Getty Images is consistently seeking to improve the visual representation of historically underrepresented communities on a global scale, which includes the LGBTQIA+ community. Most recently, we launched a formal partnership with GLAAD, through which we will develop a series of guidelines which will address each group individually to help our photographers, customers and team members better understand the nuances within the broader LGBTQIA+ community. Our first collaboration, in fact, was around depicting the transgender community authentically and respectfully.
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