At EBONY's Power 100 gala, staff Photo Director Keith Major's celebrity portraits have become one of the evening's highlights. At our 2022 event, Hollywood's biggest stars and members of the brand's leadership team paused to take a photograph with the acclaimed lensman. “I think my favorite thing to shoot is beauty and portraiture,” he says.

Always one to push the envelope, for his second year bringing the EBONY Power 100 photo studio to life, the Brooklynite captured nearly 100 portraits throughout the night, comprised of EBONY staffers, presenters and celebrity guests. Among this year's notables were Power 100 host Amber Ruffin, Entertainment Powerhouse awardee Quinta Brunson, Icon Award honoree Spike Lee, Social Justice Award honorees Wanda Cooper-Jones and Tamika Palmer, and actors Jonathan Majors, Bianca Lawson and Meagan Good to name a few.

“I think my favorite thing to shoot is beauty and portraiture.”

Keith Major, EBONY Photo Director
From left: Bianca Lawson, Myles Frost, Amber Ruffin, Fat and Tobe Nwigwe, Jonathan Majors, Spike Lee, Roger Guenveur Smith, Quinta Brunson. Photo by Keith Major for EBONY Media.

The acclaimed lensman behind EBONY's groundbreaking monthly cover shoots, Major, is known for his nuanced portraits of people of color, creating images that show his subjects as they are in real life. The lensman recently made history with the brand's November/December 2022 digital cover experience, capturing the cast of Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever using Google's groundbreaking Pixel 7 Pro device to reimagine the content capture experience. “We made one big step closer to how the eye captures imagery,” he says of using a camera phone to produce the stunning visuals. “As a professional photographer, I loved the large screen. At my fingertips, I could find focus points, and I could see the entire image right away.”

From left: Kendrick Sampson, Wanda Cooper Jones, Coodie Simmons, Chike Ozah, Meagan Goode, Nicco Annan and Garcelle Beauvais.

Shooting the EBONY Power 100 gala has fast become one of the highlights of Major's year. Not only does it provide a chance for him to reunite with notables that he may have photographed in the past; it allows a glimpse at future leaders. "It's thrilling to meet the next generation of visionaries who may one day grace our future covers," Major adds.

Looking for some of the most stunning images captured at the 2022 EBONY Power 100 gala? Check out the lensman's exclusive photographs below.