Based in San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
Email marissaleshnovphoto@gmail.com
Cell (925) 915-7204
Available to travel for assignments, by car or otherwise
__
Marissa Leshnov is a Russian and Black American photographer based in Oakland, California. Through her quiet and intimate portraiture, her work explores the complexity of intersectional identity and belonging in the American West.
Marissa's photographs have appeared in The New York Times, National Geographic and TIME, among other major publications. Commercially, she has worked with Apple, Google, Nike and more.
She believes that images have the power to shape public imagination and views photography as an act of political importance, emphasizing the need for photographs that add depth and nuance to existing narratives. As a lifelong student of photography, she often references the visual vocabulary of Black image-makers who came before her.
She is proud to be a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo, and Authority Collective.
Clients include
Apple 〰️ Athleta 〰️ California Sunday Magazine 〰️ Google 〰️ The Guardian 〰️ Insider 〰️ The Marshall Project 〰️ National Geographic 〰️ The New York Times 〰️ The New Yorker 〰️ Nike 〰️ NPR 〰️ San Francisco Chronicle 〰️ Smithsonian Magazine 〰️ Society Magazine 〰️ TIME 〰️ V Magazine 〰️ The Verge 〰️ Wall Street Journal 〰️ The Washington Post Magazine
Awards & exhibitions
2023 American Photography 39
2022 Monument Lab Documentarian in Residence
2022 IWMF Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program Fellow
2022 SECA Art Award Nominee, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
2021 "My Park Moment" exhibition, Photoville
2021 Photoville Visual Story Award
2021 The Marshall Project Team Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
2020 "Good Trouble" exhibition, MINT Gallery
2020 Ones to Watch, Atlanta Celebrates Photography
2020 "Say What You Want to Say" exhibition, Los Angeles Center of Photography