Melodie McDaniel is a photographer and director fluent in fashion, music, fine art, and filmmaking. She began her photography career shooting musicians including Smashing Pumpkins, Cat Power, Pharrell Williams, My Morning Jacket, and Rhianna, among many others. She then directed a PSA for Nike, “What If There Were No Sports?” featuring Michael Jordan, and music videos for celebrated artists including Madonna, The Cranberries, Porno for Pyros, Mazzy Star, Blonde Redhead, and Patti Smith.
Drawn to telling underrepresented stories with an elevated documentary aesthetic, she has helmed more than 200 spots for diverse clientele including Levi's, Wrangler, Nike, Chanel, Facebook, Sony, Disney, Uber and Vista.
Her groundbreaking art can also be found in magazines such as Vogue Homme International, GQ, Spin, TIME Magazine, and as the cover art on the debut album of Gabriels. A frequent collaborator of Chanel, she shot the brand’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection on location in Monte Carlo, and the Pre-Fall 2020 collection. Throughout her career, McDaniel has exhibited her own work in collections that explore the intersections of faith, culture and race juxtaposed against various landscapes.
