Florence Ngala (also known as Flo) is a a first-generation American, creative strategist, and photographer. Ngala first began capturing her NYC neighborhood of Harlem at just 13 years old and today is most known for her celebrity photojournalism. In 2022, she became the first black woman commissioned to photograph inside the MET Gala.

Her discovery for photography came shortly after losing her father, Thomas, as a middle school student at The Horace Mann School in Bronx, NY. Ngala has referenced the determination and drive of both parents as a key to her young success, sighting their pursuit of “The American Dream” as a backbone for how herself and 3 siblings were raised. Ngala’s earliest work focuses on self portraits at her family home, as well as life in 2009-2013 Harlem. After graduating high school, she received the Excellence in Visual Arts award and was dubbed “Most Artsy” in the school yearbook, foreshadowing a future career to come.

Ngala’s first professional opportunity arrived in college after being on set of a music video where she first captured behind the scenes images. That documentation landed her a gig with music label Atlantic Records to work with select artists. As a communications major planning a career in art direction, professional photography came into the picture as a surprise. Upon graduating, she merged her two loves to display a budding portfolio and love of creative direction at the national competition “Here Are All The Black People” by the One Club. She was awarded 1st place.

From there, the award-winning Droga5 agency recruited Ngala as an intern where she began to navigate an artist and advertising career before going for full time photography in 2017. The decision was inspired by another recruitment, this time with Atlantic Records as a personal photographer for artist Cardi B, marking Ngala’s big break in the music industry and photography world with her exclusive images of the star being viewed by millions. Over the years, Ngala was commissioned on multiple of Cardi’s earliest videos from 2018-2020, both of her first MET Gala appearances, and much more.

Despite that, a passion for photography inspired her to not solely navigate the celebrity space. She has gone on to land commissions with The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Vogue— and commercial work with the likes of Apple, Nike, Bank of America and more with her eye for the decisive moment. From music, to editorial, to commercial, her philosophy remains that “a good photograph, is a good photograph, is a good photograph” and she enjoys working across multiple categories with her self-titled “flo-on-the-wall” style of shooting.

Though still managing the majority of her career independently, a gift of gab, networking and branding has led her lens to the likes of Drake, The Weeknd, Venus Williams, Simone Biles, Method Man, Wizkid, Gucci Mane and Stacey Abrams and others. Ngala is currently a recipient of the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 honor for Art & Style.