D.C., Md. & Va.
Myles Minishotta calls himself the “world’s youngest professional photographer.” The 10-year-old from the Washington area has photographed D.C. racial justice protests, New York Fashion Week, squirrels, flowers and interesting architecture around the region.
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
His hands are always grasped around his bright yellow Canon as he looks for his next subject.
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
Myles Minishotta, seen here at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md., is a 10-year-old photographer from the D.C. area. He has photographed everything from proms to New York Fashion Week.
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
A 2019 photo of military statues at National Harbor.
A 2019 photo of the Ferris wheel at National Harbor, one of Myles’s favorite places to shoot.
Myles — whose legal last name is Campbell — has more than 6,000 Instagram followers, has spoken on youth panels and last year received an annual arts award from D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) for youth creativity. His photos reflect how he sees the world.
People gather and pose outside Union Market during DC Natives Day in 2019, a celebration for those born and raised in the District.
At D.C. demonstrations, Myles looked up at the people protesting police brutality and advocating for statehood. He was moved by the people who used their voices to speak up against violence.
Sharece Crawford speaks about stopping violence during Moechella at Freedom Plaza in May 2019.
A photo of City Paper in June 2020. Myles said he accidentally shot this in black and white, but he ended up preferring it this way because he thought “it represented the history of the Black community.”
During the summer of 2020 at Black Lives Matter Plaza, Myles saw all the protesters around him and knew he needed to take a picture. At only 7, he was moved by the diversity of people who came out to support Black lives and demand justice for George Floyd.
Racial justice protesters converge on Black Lives Matter Plaza in D.C. during a June 2020 demonstration over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.
“I was there with the protest and I decided to shoot it,” Myles said of this photo of a protest in June 2020. “What it means to me is that we aren’t going to do any more suffering. We just want to be treated equally.”
In August 2018, Myles wanted to shoot the foot of The Awakening statue at National Harbor because “it represents someone rising and life has begun.”
On the way to the H Street Festival in 2019, Myles noticed someone gardening, and he stopped to admire the bees. “They told me they wouldn’t bother me if I didn’t bother them,” Myles said. “And they allowed me to take pictures of their flowers and the bees.”
A squirrel poses for a photo in November 2018.
Myles also loves animals and nature: “I took this picture of this squirrel because it was posing for me and that’s rare, so I took the chance and shot a picture of it.”
While on the way to an engagement shoot, Myles stopped to see the birds at National Harbor. “They were eating bread together, and it showed friendship,” he said.
Myles knew he wanted to be a photographer since he was a toddler.
Batman and Superman battle in this April 2020 photo of Myles’s toys.
“When I was 3, I was a model and my mom was a photographer, so basically it’s like she passed it down,” Myles said. “Every time I modeled, I wanted to take the camera from her.”
To Myles, hope means believing the impossible can be possible. He took this photo of the Hope Sculpture in New York City in November 2018.
Soon, Myles wanted his own camera. But his mom would only let him borrow hers.
He decided he’d buy one himself and began offering $20 photo shoots to anyone who wanted one.
“I had to grind,” he said.
The Brookland-CUA Metro Station in Washington in June 2019.
Now, Myles offers $125 photo shoots for events such as graduations, proms and engagements. Shooting New York Fashion Week and DC Fashion Week along with the grown-up photographers has become part of his routine.
A photo on New York Avenue in D.C. in August 2018.
Model Winnie Harlow poses for Myles at New York Fashion Week in 2021.
And he is well known in the D.C. region. His mom, Shay Moore, said people recognize him when they’re out and about.
“We would be walking down the street, and people would be greeting him and they’re like ‘Oh, that’s Myles’ or ‘Hey, Myles,’ and they don’t greet me,” Moore said. “People recognize him all the time.”
Candiace Dillard Bassett from “The Real Housewives of Potomac” during DC Fashion Week in September 2019.
Myles hopes his age inspires other people to pursue their passions.
“I am doing this this young, and so other people can, too,” he said. “No matter how old you are, you can live your dreams to the fullest, as long as you’re having fun, too.”
Myles, pictured here at National Harbor.
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
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Credits
Photo editing and production by Mark Miller and Troy Witcher; text by Ellie Silverman