Sheila Pree Bright

Capturing the Soul of Atlanta

By Daniela Cintron

Published April 1, 2025

Atlanta’s creative spirit runs deep, and few photographers capture its essence as powerfully as Sheila Pree Bright. With a career spanning more than three decades, Bright has used her camera to document culture and question it, challenging perceptions of beauty, identity and the evolving landscape of Black culture. From the historic streets of Atlanta to the contemporary expressions of hip-hop, her work is both a visual archive and a poetic commentary on the city’s influence.

A Southern Homecoming of Creativity

Though Bright’s photography has taken her across the country, her return to the South reignited her creative fire. Her parents, originally from Georgia, had moved back to Waycross, prompting Bright to reconnect with her roots. 

“When I came to the South, I called my mother. I said, ‘Mom, what is going on down here?’” Her mother responded, “Baby, you’re in the South.”

It was here, in Atlanta, that she found a boundless source of inspiration. 

“I like the culture. I like the creativity. I like the innovation,” she says. “The cultural creativity of the city is having a real impact on the global world.”

The Evolution of a Photographer

Bright’s relationship with the camera began during her last year in college. “I was very shy, very introverted,” she says. “My last year in college, I took a photography course and decided I could speak to the world through imagery.”

After undergrad, she moved to Houston, Texas, in the 1990s, where she discovered hip-hop culture, finding a world she hadn’t been exposed to.

A Photographic Artist with a Message

While Bright’s foundation is in documentary and portrait photography, her artistic practice is conceptual. She creates bodies of work that explore contemporary culture and challenge traditional ideals. One of her most powerful series reflects on the Barbie doll as a cultural icon, using it to explore Black women’s experiences with body image and beauty standards.

“I didn’t play with Barbie dolls when I was young. I was mostly a tomboy,” she explains. “But in grad school, I used the Barbie doll to talk about the ideal standard of beauty in Western culture and how it affects Black women.”

Her images are not just about representation — they evoke emotion, asking viewers to look beyond the surface and confront deeper cultural narratives.

Bem Joiner and the Art of Cultural Storytelling

For “Colors of Atlanta,” Bright was inspired by Atlanta’s own cultural curator, Bem Joiner, known for coining the phrase “Atlanta Influences Everything.” She discovered him on Instagram and knew she had to photograph him. 

“There’s something about him,” she says. “He has an uncanniness and a mysteriousness. When you talk to him, he’s mentioning all these different ideas, and you’re like, ‘What is he talking about?’ But then he brings it together.”

For their shoot, Bright chose the historic Swan House at Atlanta History Center in Buckhead as the backdrop. 

“Bem talks about culture, cooperation and the Civil Rights Movement. And I felt that photographing him at the Swan House connected everything from the past to the present,” she explains.

Bright’s creative vision for the shoot was cinematic and moody. She initially used a wide-angle lens to capture the entire house but found the intimacy of a 50 mm lens created more powerful images.

“I wanted Bem in the forefront. And when everyone left, that’s when he came alive,” she says. “Those were the better shots.”

Atlanta as a Muse

For Bright, Atlanta is her creative playground. 

“Atlanta inspires me to create because I feel like I’m a little kid in a candy store,” she says. “I’m learning the sounds. I’m learning about Southern hospitality and the Southern landscape. There’s so much history to be told here.”

Through her lens, Bright’s images capture the rhythm and soul of Atlanta. Her work is a visual testimony to the city’s power: its culture, influence and unyielding creativity.

Learn more about other talented photographers featured on “Colors of Atlanta” and watch the TV series.

Daniela is the content manager and bilingual editor for Discover Atlanta. As an award-winning bilingual journalist, she is passionate about shinning light on untold stories about culture, food and Atlanta.