The 10 Best Editorial Photographers in Nashville

On the lookout for the most talented Nashville editorial photographers for an upcoming project? From commercial work for magazine articles to collaborations with couples, editorial photography covers a wide range of work. It is the art of storytelling through visual art, and it can accompany the written word – but not always. At Peerspace, we’re all about beautiful settings that help people tell beautiful stories. As the largest online marketplace for hourly venue rentals, we work with photographers all the time and have an eye for special talent.

And as it turns out, Nashville’s location as a music and art hub makes it an especially good place to find editorial collaborators to tell your story! Take a look at the artistry of the top 10 Nashville editorial photographers and see if you don’t agree with us!

1. Darion Barnhart

Darion Barnhart is a photographer of people and products from a commercial and editorial perspective. Based in Nashville, she is a graduate of the Nossi College of Art, where she obtained an associate’s degree in commercial digital photography.

Therefore, Darion knows precisely what ways to engage her audience through visual art. And thanks to her love of editorial storytelling, her work has been published in many places, including The Community Ledger of Madison, TN, and Nashville Lifestyles Magazine.

2. Emily McGonigle

Fashion-inspired portraiture is the specialty of Emily McGonigle. Her clients include people from all walks of life, but she most frequently features high school seniors. Here, the transition to adulthood can be celebrated through engaging and authentic portraits that tell viewers more about who they are as individuals.

Emily’s approaches are some of the most diverse we’ve seen, using compositions, poses, and lighting styles that approach the subject of human beauty in every conceivable manner!

3. Laura E. Pertain

If you are looking for a Nashville editorial photographer who knows how to contextualize subjects for publications, then you’re going to love the work of Laura E. Pertain. She regularly partners with Rolling Stone and NPR Music thanks to her storytelling art and experience collaborating with local artists.

Whether it is in the studio, at your home, in the field, or somewhere else entirely, Laura is always able to convey your essence to her wide audience.

4. Keren Treviño

Artists who find inspiration for their work in various mediums are some of our favorites. In fact, they take the best of editorial, fashion, lifestyle, and other approaches and make them their own. Such is the case with Keren Treviño, Nashville editorial photographer.

Keren herself also finds it difficult to truly classify her work! As she shares with us: “I balance my love for magazine editorial culture and storytelling love in my work because it’s more than just a niche. I have tried to define my work as “lifestyle” to call it a day, but ultimately I am a storyteller of many mediums.”

5. Alice Mae

Thanks to her 20+ years of experience working as a Nashville editorial photographer, Alice Mae has become a favorite for collaborators looking for long-term relationships with their creative partners! By working so hard to understand what her clients are seeking, Alice’s photography is made more powerful in the process.

We get a distinct sense of the mood, story, and character of her subjects with each image. Stories conveyed through her lens include romance, self-expression, urban street fashion, lifestyle narratives, and so much more.

6. David Bean

Commercial, editorial, sports, and music photography are just a few of the genres that David Bean has to share with a wider audience. Impressively, his work strikes precisely the right balance between artistry and engagement that you hope to see in a commercial artist.

As he shares with us: “Artistically, I create photos that are edgy while at the same time giving much respect to the principles that make for timeless photography; striking the balance of both style and substance”. Small wonder then that David’s partners include household name brands like FedEx, ESPN, and Nike.

7. Jason Myers

Editorial portraiture is a major component of the portfolio of Jason Myers. Particularly in the fitness, sports, and music subgenres where contextualizing athletes and artists is very important.

After a long stint in the corporate world as the manager of a national healthcare company, Jason realized that photography offered him something different entirely. He also takes any opportunity he can to shine a light on people like local entrepreneurs, artists, and others behind the scenes. Check out his work on his Instagram!

8. Jonte Swoope

While he is currently in the process of completing his studies at Nossi College of Art in commercial digital photography, Jonte Swoope has already become a top Nashville editorial photographer! His images often blur the lines between editorial and lifestyle photography, sharing both the creative expression of people’s lives along with documentary captures of them in motion.

We especially love Jonte’s use of hard lighting. In fact, it works nicely when paired with his high-contrast monochrome photography profiles.

9. Travis Commeau

From editorial photos of local artists in their studios to more conceptual portraits done wherever the collaboration demands, the photography of Travis Commeau is worth diving into!

We especially love the attention to the environmental details that he displays. Backgrounds that can include food trucks full of individual expressions of life, office spaces, or even pop art-inspired backdrops. Everything within the frame comes together to amplify each one of his subjects in a powerful and intentional fashion.

10. Avery Duvall

Lifestyle portraiture can also convey powerful editorial narratives, as Avery Duvall demonstrates! Each collaboration she partakes in shows impressive results. In fact, it tells she’s a photographer who understands a relationship and finds the best means of expressing it.

Avery’s settings are ideally chosen to express nostalgia, romance, or oftentimes feel especially personal to her subjects. And as a result, we feel as if we’re stepping into their lives during an outing or elopement rather than looking at a planned photoshoot!

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