We asked a handful of our favourite photographers to look back at 2019 and remember it through the photographs they took. From i-D contributions to personal pictures of friends, family and strangers on the street, this is Tyrell Hampton: My Year in Photos.
Photographer Tyrell Hampton has only one policy when it comes to taking on jobs right now: it has to make him smile. Looking at his Instagram, awash with shots from parties with FKA twigs, Mona Tougaard and Kaia Gerber — it’s pretty obvious Tyrell applies this policy to every aspect of his life. When the 22-year-old Philadelphia native isn’t shooting his friends, he’s working with Calvin Klein, Coach and Alexander Wang. “I started with video when I was 10 or 11,” he says. “I would go in the Apple store and make videos on iMovie. I then became obsessed with how screenshots from a video could be a stand alone piece. Long story short, I moved to New York for school and started sneaking into fashion shows and making friends with models.”
Libra
September 25th is my birthday, making me a Libra. I recently got braces so this image is to showcase my new smile.
Capricorn
January 7th is my mom’s birthday. This image was taking in a beauty shop in Harlem. Although I grew up in Philadelphia, beauty shops everywhere are the hub for children and their moms and the reason for my curiosity.
Pisces
February 25th is my younger brother’s birthday (not pictured). I took these images during February of this year to challenge myself. I mainly photograph parties in the moment, but I wanted to see if I can do mimic my technique in a controlled environment. I also love the CK One fragrance ad campaign so this is my rendition.
Taurus
April 22nd is my childhood best friend Kiana’s birthday (not pictured). Ama Elsesser is a Taurus and one of my muses. I took this picture at an Alexander Wang event, one of my favourite designers.
Scorpio
November 3rd is Andrea Jacob’s birthday, another best friend. She is in the centre of the image taking a sip of the drink. She has changed my year immensely and she’s also one of my muses.
Aquarius
February 7th is Jordan Daniel’s birthday, another best friend and muse. She is in the blonde wig. This is at Kaia Gerber’s birthday party and this image is one of my favourites from the night. The nude image is of Mona Matsuoka, who is another muse of mine and an Aquarius. I was really inspired by Ren Hang so I just wanted to see how I could photograph nudity in my own way.
Virgo
September 14th is my ex-boyfriend’s birthday. I probably won’t date a Virgo again… Kaia Gerber is a Virgo and has become a good friend of mine this year. The boy on the far left of image, Caio Twombly, is a Virgo and has also become a good friend this year.
Sagittarius
I don’t have any close Sagittarius friends but this image represents a Sagittarius to me because of the spontaneous nature. I think Sagittarius always have fun… thus this image.
Aries
This is my best friend Nick’s birthday (not pictured). Betty giving us the finger reminds of the fire sign and Betty’s personal characteristics match those of a fire sign. Robin Sparkles is my Studio 54 queen. This black-and-white image makes me smile the most because I love the 70s disco era and all the images from that period, so to have this image of my own work is really nice.
Cancer
I don’t have any Cancer close friends. This is Skylar Penn… and, again, this is me testing my limits with nudity and irreverence.
Leo
August 11th is Sabina Paellmann’s birthday, the woman tied up. She is my most used model because her beauty is so versatile to me that I use her quite often. The boy is Audi, his smile is so infectious and he is also a Leo. Leo is my moon sign.
Gemini
Gemini is my rising sign but also Neon’s sun sign. Neon is shaving her head. I think it’s funny how Geminis have two faces and Neon is here changing her appearance. The second image is at another Wang event and it’s Trina performing. This night I sang with the City Girls on stage and it was the highlight of my year.