Deise Jefinny

Deise Jefinny is a Brazilian American photojournalist and entrepreneur based in South Florida. She studied photography at the National Service for Commercial Apprenticeship (SENAC) and purchased her first camera while working at a high-end photo lab, where she manually processed Ektachrome film.

In 1996, she moved to northeastern Brazil, settling in the city of Fortaleza, where she began documenting the region’s rich cultural expressions and collaborating as a photojournalist with a local newspaper. During this time, she also worked with Brazilian filmmakers, contributing to both feature and short films as a  behind-the-scenes photographer.

From 1998 to 2001, she served as the resident photographer at the Dragão do Mar Center of Art and Culture. In parallel, she participated in educational programs, teaching photography classes to low-income students.

In the early 2000s, she relocated to Florida, where she continued documenting events, inclusive community life, natural landscapes, cityscapes, and the rhythm of everyday life — people, workers, and communities whose stories are often overlooked. Her work captures a period of cultural transition and growing visibility, including moments connected to LGBTQ+ communities and civil rights movements. Deise is an award-winning photographer with exhibitions in Brazil and the United States.

Her images reflect authenticity, diversity, and human presence. Each photograph is grounded in time, location, and date, creating a documented record of the moments that shape communities. Her archives preserve events from the past, while her current work continues to document the present.

Her practice is rooted in truth, presence, and respect for human dignity. Working with minimal editing and no AI intervention, she maintains the integrity of light, atmosphere, and reality. Her photographs are not staged constructions; they are witnesses to lived experience — grounded in place and time, and carried forward through memory.

Facebook: @DeiseJefinnyPhotography

Instagram: @DeiseJefinny