Sex & Cigarettes

The photography of Daniella Midenge is the perfect symbiosis of artistic photography, erotic appeal, and an unforgettable signature style

Strong women, accentuated by their beauty and sensuality, are the hallmark of fashion photographer Daniella Midenge. Her pictures evoke intimacy and passion, beyond the outer shell. Black-and-white or color, her photos have an incredible power of expression that draws the eye of men and women alike. Her unique style still shows the influence of photographers like Peter Lindbergh and Herb Ritts. As a woman and a model herself, Daniella Midenge is at home both behind and in front of the camera, directing, producing, doing hair and make-up, retouching — all of which she does herself. It’s no wonder she is reluctant to let others handle the processing of her photographs. Growing up in a creative family, her love of images, faces, shapes, and exotic places combined with her work as an oil painting restorer — all contributed to the many twists and turns on Midenge’s path to photography. After her first contact with a camera, she never looked back. For the first time, Daniella Midenge’s best work is collected in a single volume: one that will leave you wanting to see more.

DANIELLA MIDENGE is a self-taught photographer and an enthusiast of contrasts. Her first magazine cover was for Marie Claire, shot in New York 2010, starring top models Candice Swanepoel and Behati Prinsloo. Other illustrious magazines in her portfolio include Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and ELLE. Her client base continues to expand with commissions from major companies like H&M and Swarovski.

In addition, she is occasionally in front of the camera herself and is captured by Ellen Von Unwerth in her new magazine with the same name as this book hits the stores.

In Daniella Midenge’s very first coffee table book, Sex & Cigarettes, there are of course a few self-portraits included.

"Daniella is a natural force and through her beautiful piercing eyes, she sees the world from her own magical perspective that she transcends to powerful images... with her charisma she inspires the person she photographs to let go of layers and to be apart of her fantasy during that certain moment ... The photos she took of my daughter Blue are iconic."

Johan Lindeberg, New York