Taylor Baldwin's Superpowers:
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Transforming dreams into reality. I've crafted beautiful goals for myself that once seemed unattainable. Over the years, I've joyfully achieved many of them, even surpassing some.
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Inspirational prowess. Since my days as a student at Moore, I've utilized social media as a platform to showcase my endeavors. This community has flourished alongside me, offering me the opportunity to share my narrative. Through this journey, I've connected with countless women, igniting within them the courage to dream ambitiously.
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Resilience in adversity. Balancing the demands of motherhood with the rigors of managing a creative enterprise poses formidable challenges. While some days are undeniably tough, I possess the fortitude to persevere relentlessly.
Taylor Baldwin ’18 knew what she wanted to do with her career. While studying Photography at Moore, she quickly discovered she didn’t want to work in a gallery or in fine arts. She wanted to capture the people in the world around her and start a business.
That business was born in Moore’s Dining Hall in October 2017. Baldwin was working with a Graphic Design student on her logo when they asked for her brand’s name. Combining her identities as a photographer and a mother, Baldwin landed on “Mama Photog,” the name she still uses today.
During her final two years at Moore, Baldwin traveled to New York City for New York Fashion Week (NYFW) each September and February. Determined to build her social media presence while still a student, she worked on her street style photography and collaborated with influencers.
“I didn’t wait until I graduated to be this person. I was trying to figure it out while I had resources like the Photo Cage and faculty to critique my work,” she said. “I wanted to do things differently, and once people at Moore realized that, they helped me figure out how to do it.”
A few months after her graduation, Baldwin was contacted by Essence to capture street style and cover events. In 2019, she worked at events like CurlFest, a Black-owned, woman-owned festival celebrating natural hair, and the Essence Beauty Carnival. She describes her work with Essence as one of her proudest accomplishments.
“[Working at Essence] was on my list of things to accomplish. I wanted an internship there and didn’t get it, but they reached out to me later and we worked on multiple projects together,” Baldwin said. “I left a mark and was really able to be myself.”
Her work with the magazine led to incredible new opportunities, like photographing singers Patti LaBelle and Jazmine Sullivan, and continuing her NYFW coverage with Refinery29.
Baldwin has since expanded into full-time content creation and creative work utilizing photography, videography and interior design. One of her most recent focuses was “Black Women Being,” a photo and video series that explores how Black women curate and build home spaces.
Baldwin never saw herself as anything but a photographer. As she expands the scope of her work, she’s thankful for the well-rounded education that allowed her to do so.
“When I was at Moore, I always said I was just a photo girl. I didn’t understand why I was being taught video or graphic design,” she said. “It’s funny now because I don’t just do photography anymore and these skills have become part of my toolkit. Now, I understand that I can have my hands in all these different buckets and perform at a high level.”
Baldwin returned to Moore to be the keynote speaker at Fall Convocation in 2023, and she encouraged students not to wait for graduation to pursue their professional goals.
“You can do whatever you want to do. You’re in a building with so many different artists and majors and things to do. At Moore, you have the room to figure things out with so many different ears and opinions,” she said. “Just be super confident and find your sweet spot.”
Want to learn more about Photography at Moore? Contact our Admissions team at enroll@moore.edu or 215.965.4015 to set up a call or a campus visit. We’d love to tell you more!
