PHOTOGRAPHER | VISUAL STORYTELLER | EDUCATOR
Yadira Hernández-Picó
As a photographer, I am responsible for honoring the trust people place in me by allowing access to their lives, documenting them with empathy, integrity, and honesty — not just with my camera but also with my heart.
Photography has the power to drive social change. It ignites action and fosters a shared understanding of the world. Within every photograph I make lies the opportunity to amplify unheard voices, share human experiences, and uncover truths. Being portrayed with dignity and respect is an empowering step forward.
About the photographer
Self-Portrait, 2020
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Yadira Hernández-Picó is a Boricua (Puerto Rican) documentary photographer and educator. Her work addresses social justice issues and the human impact of climate change, focusing on underrepresented and vulnerable communities in her native Puerto Rico.
Her long-term project chronicling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Volver a casa [Returning Home], is the recipient of the 2019 National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC) Fund for the Arts Grant and the 2018 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 such as The World of Photography (FotoNostrum 2023), NPR’s The Picture Show, Lens Magazine, and Woman Magazine Austria. She has been awarded by the Lucie Foundation, the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, and the BarTur Photo Award, among others.
A VII Academy alumni, her work has been exhibited worldwide, most recently as part of the 2023 BarTur Photo Award Exhibition held in Germany and Poland, the 2022 Exhibition by Fotógrafas Latinoamericanas in Paris, and the 2022 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 Women Photograph, Diversify Photo, and Authority Collective member.
Deeply committed to environmental conservation, Yadira employs natural and sustainable materials, exploring nontoxic, plant-based alternative photographic processes like anthotypes and chlorophyll printing.
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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
VII Academy
BarTur Photo Award
Women Photograph
Lens Magazine
Julia Margaret Cameron Award
The Lucie Foundation
NALAC
National Endowment for the Humanities
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The World of Photography (Book and Exhibition) – FotoNostrum; Barcelona, Spain (2024)
BarTur Photo Award Exhibition – The Fort Institute of Photography; Warsaw, Poland (2023)
BarTur Photo Award 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)
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 home country 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].
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![NPR Logo Meet 5 women documenting the effects of climate change around the world]()
Meet 5 women documenting the effects of climate change around the world
Yadira Hernández-Picó kept reporting on the unprecedented catastrophe…
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![NBC Logo Fierce Female Friday]()
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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![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 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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