Photographing one of the world’s most sought after celebrities may seem a daunting task, but for Flo Ngala it’s all part of the day job. 

For two years, the photographer captured parts of the life of musician Cardi B, from video shoots to intimate moments with her family to sold out arenas. 

Here writer Alix-Rose Cowie speaks to Flo to find out what it takes to snap shots that are seen by millions, and document moments that will go down in music history.

When everyone on a Cardi B music video set is being told “strictly no phones, no photos,” Flo Ngala is quietly snapping away, swooping in between takes to get the shot.

“There’s not really anyone telling me what to do,” she says. Since 2017 Flo has gained exclusive access shooting behind the scenes for the hip hop superstar on music video sets

At music festivals, awards shows, talk show appearances and two Met Galas. “It’s not like an outlined role,” she says.

“It’s more like a kid who has a good eye and gets a chance to work with a big artist, and I’m just going to go in and do my thing.”

Flo was first given the opportunity to shoot Cardi B by Atlantic Records in October 2017. Her single Bodak Yellow had been a hit all summer and she was performing it at the BET Hip Hop awards in Miami. The audience saw a kaleidoscopic fur-laden Cardi B in hot pink high-waisted velvet trousers and a bra made of jewels stake her claim on the stage before going on to win multiple awards. Backstage, Flo captured a wholly more private moment as Cardi B celebrated her own firsts with her close-knit team and her now husband Offset in her dressing room. “I was just happy to be there, like a fly on the wall, just observing,” Flo says. “It’s a little intimidating when you’re around a big star. It was my first time being around someone who was as famous as her. I think she’s so used to having so many people around her that for a while she even recognized my face.”

Shooting the same subject over time naturally fosters a familiarity between a photographer and her subject and over the two years that Flo has been shooting Cardi B, she’s captured her in high spirits: cracking jokes with her team and turning up the volume to entertain an audience of thousands, but she’s also captured her tired, hungry, and pregnant. “I think she definitely knows how to bring it out and be this funny, outgoing person when she needs to be, but in general she also has a pretty low key side as well,” Flo says.

One thing she’s learnt over time is to gauge what images of herself Cardi B will like and which she won’t. Early on when Flo would show selects to Cardi’s hair stylist or make-up artist they’d immediately pick out the ones she wouldn’t like. “They were like: this doesn’t look like her, she’s not going to like the picture,” she says. Any picture she posts to social media has the potential to be picked up by numerous fan pages, re-posted and re-tweeted until it’s seen by millions of people. The intractable nature of an online image means that what she decides to post comes with a certain responsibility. Although there’s no formal approval process for the images Flo shares online, she’s sensitive to Cardi B’s insecurities.

“Being a woman informs the way I photograph a woman. Nobody wants an unflattering image of them out there,” Flo says. “There might be what I think are incredible photographs but if she wouldn’t like how she looks in them, I try to respect that and avoid putting it out there.” The way tabloid press treats celebrity pictures has led us to believe that celebrities waiver this right in exchange for fame. But this only makes their image more fiercely controlled. It’s through Flo’s respect for her subject as a person that she’s gained Cardi B’s trust and the trust of her label and, in turn, she’s invited behind closed doors to document what others don’t get to see.

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