PHOTOGRAPHER | VISUAL STORYTELLER | EDUCATOR
Yadira Hernández-Picó
As a photographer, I have a responsibility to honor the trust and access I am granted into people’s lives — capturing their stories with empathy and integrity, not only through my lens, but with a sincere heart.
About Puerto Rico Photographer Yadira Hernández Picó
Self-Portrait, 2020
Photography has the unique power to drive social change, igniting action and fostering a deeper, shared understanding of our world. Within every frame I make lies an opportunity to amplify unheard voices and uncover essential truths. To be portrayed with dignity and respect is an empowering step forward — for each person and for our collective story.
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Yadira Hernández-Picó is a Boricua (Puerto Rican) photographer, visual storyteller, and educator. Her work addresses social justice and the human impact of climate change, focusing on underrepresented and vulnerable communities in her homeland of Puerto Rico.
Her long-term project, Volver a casa (Returning Home), chronicling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, is the recipient of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Fund for the Arts Grant and the National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, in partnership with the Puerto Rican Endowment for the Humanities.
Yadira’s work has been featured in major publications, including NPR’s The Picture Show, Musée Magazine, Lens Magazine, Woman Magazine Austria, and The World of Photography (FotoNostrum, 2023). She has received international recognition from the Lucie Foundation, the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, the BarTur Photo Award, and others.
A VII Foundation alumna, her work has been exhibited worldwide, most recently at the Festival Fotográfico de Medellín in Colombia, the BarTur Photo Award exhibitions in Germany and Poland, and the Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Barcelona.
Yadira holds a Master's in Arts and Cultural Management from the University of Puerto Rico, where she is currently a Professor of Photography. She is a member of Women Photograph, Diversify Photo, and Authority Collective.
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The VII Foundation
Visual Journalism Program for Native American Storytellers — Mentored by Maggie Steber, Danny Wilcox Frazier, and Josué Rivas (2025)
Foundry Photojournalism Workshop — Mentored by Nichole Sobecki (2022)
Musée Magazine
Biblioteca Pública Piloto de Medellín para América Latina
Women Photograph
Diversify Photo
Selected to become a full member of the global community of BIPOC and non-Western photographers (2023)
World Water Day Photo Contest
The World of Photography (Book and Exhibition)
The World of Photography: An Introduction to the Expansive Realm of Photography (FotoNostrum, 2023)
The Natural Resources Defense Council
Named as one of the 4 Environmental Photographers You Should Follow (2023)
NPR – The Picture Show
BarTur Photo Award
Lens Magazine
Julia Margaret Cameron Award
Women Seen by Women Series, Honourable Mention (2021)
The Lucie Foundation
NALAC
National Endowment for the Humanities
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Good Impactful Photography (Online Exhibition and Zine) by Float Photo Magazine (2025)
II Festival Fotográfico de Medellín – Biblioteca Pública Piloto de Medellín; Colombia (2025)
The World of Photography (Book and Exhibition) – FotoNostrum; Barcelona, Spain (2024)
BarTur Photo Award Winners Exhibition – The Fort Institute of Photography; Warsaw, Poland (2023)
BarTur Photo Award Winners Exhibition – F³- Space for Photography; Berlin, Germany (2023)
The world seen by Latin American women by Fotógrafas Latinoamericanas – 59 Rivoli Gallery; Paris, France (2022)
Visions of Motherhood (Online Exhibition) by The Luupe (2022)
6th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography – FotoNostrum; Barcelona, Spain (2022)
Four Degrees: Eco-Anxiety and Climate Change (Online Exhibition) by Humble Arts Foundation and Strange Fire Collective (2021)
Exposición Internacional del II Encuentro de Mujeres Artistas Visuales (Online Exhibition) (2021)
Convergencia en Medio de la Pandemia (Online Exhibition) by Asociación de Artistas Plásticos de Puerto Rico (2020)
New York Latin American Art Triennial ‘Progressive Transition’ – Taller Boricua Gallery; New York, US (2019)
Volver a casa: Dos años después del Huracán María (Solo Exhibition) – Sala de Arte Fotográfico Galería de los Gigantes; Carolina, Puerto Rico (2019)
Nor Wind, Nor Water – Da Vinci Art Alliance; Philadelphia, US (2019)
Perspectivas Temporales: Exploraciones del contexto histórico-social contemporáneo– Museo de Arte Francisco Oller; Bayamón, Puerto Rico (2019)
Volver a casa: crónica visual del Huracán María en las Indieras (Solo Exhibition) – Fundación Banco Popular; San Juan, Puerto Rico (2018)
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![NPR Logo]()
Meet 5 women documenting the effects of climate change around the world
Yadira Hernández-Picó kept reporting on the unprecedented catastrophe caused by the storm…
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![NBC Logo]()
Fierce Female Friday
NBC 6's Sheli Muñiz introduces us to the Puerto Rican photographer Yadira Hernández-Picó, one fierce female making the most out of the bad…
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![Covering Climate Now Logo]()
Talking Shop: Visualizing Climate Change
“You are there to dignify their experience and honor their trust.” Her coverage of post-Hurricane Maria…
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Woman Crush Wednesday
Volver a casa [Returning Home]: Revisiting stories of resilience examines important transformations and developments in the stories…
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![Humble Arts Foundation Logo Four Degrees]()
Four Degrees. Essay by Roula Seikaly
Images by Yadira Hernández-Picó convey intimate accounts of extreme weather, emphasizing a personal toll…
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![Ann Lesley BarTur Award Logo]()
Ann Lesley BarTur Award
In Volver a casa, I return to my childhood home. As we were doing our best to recover as many possessions as were feasible under layers of…
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![Broad Street Review Logo]()
Respond, heal, remind.
When Hurricane Maria passed, Yadira Hernández-Picó traveled the island with her camera to record people in their new normal. She encountered…
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![Revista Visión Doble Logo]()
La poesía del desapego en el Volver a casa
Volver a casa es una reflexión justa y necesaria para aquellos, en la diáspora y en la propia isla, que todavía…
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In 2017, I founded the photography-based nonprofit organization El duende que habita en tu alma to explore the possibilities for visual storytelling to advance social justice within underrepresented communities in my homeland of Puerto Rico.
This organization is named in tribute to my father. The name comes from his letter following my first solo show: “¡Qué fotos preciosas, eh! Pero ninguna se asemeja a las que pinta el duende que habita en tu alma” [Beautiful photos, eh! But none resemble those painted by the duende that inhabits your soul.]
