Mynxii White

Explore the mind of creative director, producer, and photographer, Mynxii White and the visual inspiration that guides her artistry.

1. Tell us the story behind the first image you ever made.
While I can’t remember the exact first image I ever made, I do remember the first editorial I ever shot. I had no idea what I was really doing at the time but knew I had an exact vision and mood for the story I wanted to tell. I knew I would figure out how to execute it on my own. I took a chanced and shot my “Red Hearts Run Free” story for Nakid Magazine, and somehow it came out exactly how I wanted it! I definitely used more lights than I needed at the time, but that’s the beauty of trying something new and taking a chance at learning something that scares you. I’ve watched other photographers around me as I’ve grown and taken more chances over the last couple of years I have been shooting, and it has forced me out of my box and into a whole new world of creation.

2. What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered in your visual storytelling, and how did you approach these issues?
Time is my worst enemy. I usually shoot guerrilla style on a location, and due to time allowed from talent, light or just the ease of shooting on whatever location we are on, it definitely effects the story I am able to tell. I have learned to “go with the flow” and just let the story become what it wants to become and not get discouraged when I lose time to shoot certain things I see in my head when creating my mood boards ahead of time. I’ve discovered that the board is just a loose guide, and to create on the go is the best way to let your vision evolve into something unique and beautiful. The story will tell you what it wants to be, and very often, it is much better than the initial idea.

3. What is a piece of advice offered to you, related to photography, that has been most valuable to you?
“Know your references” was the best thing anyone ever said to me. It opened up a whole new world of creating and free-flowing thinking that influenced the birth of ideas the evolved into my own version of storytelling. I spend every spare minute I have surrounding myself with art, films and books to spark ideas that I eventually obsess over until I execute them. I’ve learned that a vast library of knowledge and references becomes its own language in this industry. Just like numbers speak to the sciences and finances- references and imagery speak through ideas in art. We can communicate so clearly and learn how to explain what we see and what we need with our teams when we know our references inside and out. I’m still learning all I can and devour everything I can get my hands (or eyes) on every day. A library can never be too big!

4. Of all the projects you have worked on, which one left an indelible impression on your current point of view?
‘REVOLT!’ absolutely left the longest and deepest impression on me. It is a series I created based on women in history that were persecuted, beaten up, or killed for their revolutionary ideas on feminism and freedom. Every day I did research on these incredible women who opened up my eyes to the pain and suffering that led to the simple freedoms that I so blindly enjoy every day. These women risked everything for me to be able to use my voice now to create and be able to have a platform of my own. I hope I can continue to use this voice I’ve been given to carry on the push of equality and free flowing ideas that began with the incredible minds before me.

5. Based on your experiences, what advice would you give the next generation of photographers?
Never stop! If I had listened to every person who didn’t want a camera in my hands, to every person who told me to “stick to lipstick” because that’s what they thought I was good at, I never would have found my true passion- my FIRE, the thing that keeps me up at night and drives me to keep living every morning. Photography and film have changed my entire life and my entire being. It wasn’t an easy start and only a couple of people took the time to explain some of the technical side of things, but I never ever stopped, and now I have a whole new world of opportunity that I get to look forward to every day. I’m finally happy. And I’m happy ON MY OWN. It’s not another person that brings me happiness or a certain number I see in my bank account- it’s ME that makes me happy because I know I have the tools to create every fantasy I’ve ever had through my lens. I don’t need anything else. So keep going.

6. Of all the images you have made, which one is most important to you? Why?
It’s hard to choose which one out of the ‘REVOLT!’ series that stands out the most to me in particular because every image tells a story of a woman so powerful her voice stood the test of time throughout history and is still so string today. If one image stood out in particular, it would be the first image I ever shot for the series with my vintage polaroid for the test shot. It began with a single image and opened up an incredible world for me with Leica that changed my entire life.

7. What image do you see but have not yet created?
Ha! I struggle with this every day! I want to create EVERYTHING I’ve ever dreamed of! My biggest goal I’ve ever set for myself was to win an Oscar for best director one day. That, to me, is the most important image I have yet to create. It’s the moving image that will eventually tell the story I have yet to tell that gets one of few women into the boys’ club of film making. Who knows where this journey will lead!

8. What are some of the challenges female photographers face when trying to make it?
I think men’s voices have drowned out the female voice for so long, it’s difficult to get a word in (or idea) edgewise in the industry. Thankfully, we have begun to make waves and things are finally changing. I hope I get to be one of the women that change the industry for the better and pave the way for ALL voices to be heard. It’s also shocking the amount of push back that comes from other WOMEN as well! It’s as if there’s this tiny niche of opportunity that can only go to few, so unfortunately women have learned how to compete with each other to fight for a platform. This is a false reality and needs to be changed. There is opportunity for everyone to succeed, and we can create so much more when we work together! Support for one another with be our biggest strength and our fellow female will be our biggest ally.

9. What are your hopes and expectations for the Leica Women Foto Project?
I hope we can create a platform for more ideas and a space for revolutionary change for more female voices. When another year passes and not a single woman is nominated for best director at the Oscars, I know we still have so much work to do. There are so many incredible women out there that have brilliant voices that have the potential of changing history. I want this project to find those women.

10. In your opinion, what characterizes a female perspective. How does it differ from a male perspective?
It doesn't necessarily need to be so black and white. Women can have a masculine perspective just like a man can have a feminine perspective. When you can see an image or film and just get lost in the story and not worry about whose hands held the camera- that’s the real goal. This hard line in the sand only continues to pit both sides against each other, and this is what keeps women from making progress. We are not “teams” in the world of ideas. We are all just here to tell a story to be just heard. The perspective from each lens is unique and deserves its moment regardless of who it belongs to. This is how we expand to having enough space for every voice. We need to support each other always.