Joy Ofodu is the youngest marketer at Instagram, arguably the largest and most popular social media company globally. Her life’s mission is to empower communities, particularly Black creators, both on and offline. Equipped with her vibrant personality and dynamic online presence to match, she is quite literally bringing joy to the world one Instagram reel at a time. 

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Joy shares that her knack for creativity and digital media sparked her interest as a child. The evolution of her digital media journey began with working with brands such as Facebook, Star Wars, thredUP, and the NAACP Image Awards. Now a Marketing Manager at Instagram, Joy’s focus is community and engagement, and representation in global campaigns. 

Black Women Photographers caught up with Joy to learn about the evolution of her journey from photographing red carpet events to working with a social media giant. 

Tell us a bit about your introduction to photography

I’ve always been a creative kid and an internet kid. My passions became more prominent in high school, where I was involved in the performing arts. I chose to study at the University of Southern California because I initially wanted to work in communications within the entertainment industry. In hindsight, studying at USC unlocked my passion for photography. I dove into portrait photography because my friends needed portraits for professional purposes. As a result of living in LA, portrait photography for my friends soon catapulted me into red carpet photography.

How have your Nigerian roots shaped you and your work?

The initial reaction to my seriousness about photography was shock because no one else in my family has a creative background. It was always a matter of explaining what I was doing and why I was doing it. Due to the unfamiliarity, they couldn't really distinguish one event or one celebrity from the other, but they were very proud of me.

I must say, I never felt like I needed validation from my family to pursue photography because I was always proud to show off my photos, and they’ve been really supportive of that. I was a good, studious kid, so me running around LA with a camera was the least of their concerns. 

What was it like being a red carpet photographer?

I was fortunate to photograph at the NAACP image awards and the highlight of my evening was the chance to photograph Carrie Washington. It was honestly a dream come true. I went from wanting to be a performer to capturing and studying performers through my lens. Even though I’m not a full-time photographer, photography continues to serve as an avenue to extend my network and dive into different cultures.

Are you often the only Black photographer at red carpet events? Covering entertainment events?

I’ve experienced moments where celebrities are more sympathetic to me than other photographers and allow me to interview them because I’m the only other Black person around. There I was being this student photographer getting dirty looks because my camera was an older model. I had to make a point to myself to just dive into the work and not let the other photographers muscle me out. This dynamic puts us at a disadvantage because photography in LA has become about what you shoot with and who you know.  I think that’s extremely important to extend that kindness because the lack of diversity at Hollywood can create a complex environment for Black photographers.

What particular projects were the highlight of your career thus far?

It has to be the Black Panther tribute I shot in 2018. Mainly, because it spoke to me about the importance of creating impact as opposed to virality in numbers. The idea came to me after attending the world premiere of the movie. When I was at USC, I was deeply immersed in the student film scene. As Ryan Coogler is an alumnus of USC, many other students and I were fortunate to get invited to the premier.

I intended to stir that collective pride that I experienced after watching the film. Until that moment, I’d never seen African women painted that beautifully and accurately in blockbuster cinema, so I wanted to replicate that through photography.

When I first posted it, I looked at how each of the posts was performing and which celebrities were sharing it until I finally decided to detach myself emotionally and let the work speak for itself. And it did. I received lots of international coverage from AFROPUNK, Refinery29, BBC, and other publications. Lupita Nyong’o shared it on her Instagram too. It was such a significant moment because it was a testament to achieving the grandest of visions with the smallest budget. 

What has been the best and most challenging parts of your journey thus far?

The most challenging part of my journey does not fit within the mold of a Black woman photographer. Within this small, underrepresented space, there are stereotypes of what a photographer should be. By this, I’m referring to what type of educational background people think photographers are supposed to have or people you’re supposed to have shot with to be respectable. I may do many things outside of photography, and even though it’s not my primary source of income anymore, it’s still my passion.

The most fun is knowing that photography is a skill that stays with me forever.

How has moving to San Francisco influenced your craft?

In LA, people are born to be on camera because they crave to shoot; they live to be on camera, which isn’t always the case in San Francisco. Whereas before, I had people begging me to shoot and work on creative projects, now I have to seek out opportunities proactively.

What are you up to now?

Brand marketing within tech is a massive passion of mine. Since graduating, I’ve been an associate brand marketing manager at Instagram. I love crafting messages and building campaigns. I’ve been fortunate to travel to Berlin, Mexico, New York, and Atlanta for work. Even though I may not be the person behind the lens, my 9-5 involves selecting images that will be used to represent global platforms. Besides that, I’m an industry circuit speaker speaking to people about professional development and marketing.