Photographer and singer · Nigeria
TY Bello
TY Bello (Toyin Sokefun-Bello, born 1978) is a Nigerian photographer, singer, songwriter and philanthropist. One of the country's best-known portrait photographers, she has photographed three Nigerian presidents and was official photographer to Goodluck Jonathan. She first became known as a singer in the gospel group Kush and has had a solo career since; she also runs a charity for orphans.
Updated 2 min read
Toyin Sokefun-Bello, known as TY Bello, was born on 14 January 1978 in Ogun State, Nigeria, and studied economics at the University of Lagos. She worked briefly in journalism before turning to photography, and became a member of the Depth of Field collective of Nigerian photographers. She has also worked with the fashion magazine ThisDay Style and teaches: she gave a masterclass at GTBank Fashion Weekend in 2017.
As a portrait photographer she has photographed leading Nigerians, including three sitting presidents, and served as official photographer to President Goodluck Jonathan. Her portraits and fashion photographs are known for their warmth and light, and she holds an annual photography exhibition to raise money for orphans through her charity, Link-a-Child.
Music runs alongside her photography. She first came to attention in the early 2000s in the gospel group Kush before going solo.
How to look at a TY Bello portrait: her portraits are known for their warmth and light, so look at how the light falls on the face before you look at the clothes. That reading is this site's own.
Where to see the work
Her own site, tybello.com, shows her portfolio; the Guardian (Nigeria) and ThisDay Style have published profiles, and GTBank's Fashion Weekend pages cover her masterclass. See also our lists of Nigerian photographers and Nigerian artists.
