Fred Watkins

Fred Watkins has been a professional photographer for over 35 years. He has traveled worldwide and photographed celebrities and heads of state, from Nelson Mandela to Muhammad Ali. He is the only African-American photographer to capture all the United States Presidents, from George H. W. Bush to Joe Biden.

He grew up in Armstrong Court, a low-income housing development in Greenwich, CT, where he was first introduced to photography by his father, Reverend Frederick Watkins, Sr. Fred was on the yearbook staff and in the photography club at Greenwich High.

Fred started his career in the streets of New York as a paparazzi and worked in the Time-Life photo lab in New York City. He worked his way up doing freelance photography for Time, Life and People magazines.

Fred eventually worked for Ebony and Jet magazines as a staff photographer for 20 years, and in that period, he became a member of the White House Press Corps. He was honored to document Nelson Mandela's historic first tour of the United States after being released from prison in 1990.

Over the years, Fred expanded his clientele to include ABC, ESPN, Pfizer, Miller Brewing Company, General Motors, Fox News, The National Football League and other Fortune 500 companies. He...

Fred graduated from Western Connecticut State University with a degree in Social Welfare and Photojournalism. During his college years, he honed his photography skills and worked on the yearbook and as editor of the school newspaper.

Recently, Fred was contacted by the Smithsonian Institute and is negotiating to have some of his photographs placed in the African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington, DC.

Fred also exhibits a small portion of his body of work in museums, colleges, libraries and other public and private spaces including:

2023
Photographic Nights of Selma - Selma, Alabama
Guest of Honor

2019
Harmony Hall Art Center - Fort Washington, MD

2018
Greenwich Public Library

2017
Germanna Community College