An album cover featuring Beyoncé on a white horse waving an American flag
Parkwood Entertainment LLC

Last March, the side-saddle, flag-flying album cover for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter immediately sparked references to stately portraits of George Washington and Napoleon. Discerning critics even compared Queen Bey’s red, white, and blue getup and pageant sash to the legacy of Black cowboys in the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo. Shot by Texas photographer Blair Caldwell, the cover has transcended any influences and cemented itself as an iconic image in its own right.

“It ended up being great timing in my life because I grew up around the rodeo and barbecue and old school cars with the big rims,” the 34-year-old photographer says. “I was doing a lot of personal photography for her, but I always wanted that big commercial opportunity. She’s from Texas. I’m from Texas. It just made sense.”

One of four kids, Caldwell was raised by his pastor father and “first lady” mother in Tyler. Outside of worship, he spent hours glued to MTV and BET, which inspired DIY photo shoots with his sister—as well as a homespun remake of Beyoncé’s “Halo” music video. In 2013, after studying photography at the Art Institute of Dallas, Caldwell made a name for himself in LA, where he became a go-to photographer for starlets like Normani and Kylie Jenner.

His powerful portraits first graced Beyoncé’s Instagram feed in 2018, and the opportunity eventually earned him high-profile gigs shooting SZA and Michael B. Jordan for Wonderland magazine covers. Despite frequent work with Beyoncé over the years, including on her landmark 2018 Coachella performance, Caldwell’s call-up for Cowboy Carter was unexpected.

“It was like, ‘Are you available to shoot tomorrow?’” he recalls. “It wasn’t a huge set. She wanted to keep it very minimal.”

Mainstreaming conversations about the unsung contributions of Black musicians in country music, Cowboy Carter broke streaming records and notched 11 2025 Grammy Award nominations. With his sights set on further work in high fashion and editorial, Caldwell stays busy documenting the superstar’s ongoing rhinestone cowgirl era.

“It was part of something iconic and revolutionary,” Caldwell says. “She could have gotten the biggest photographer in the world, but she chose me.”

A portrait of a man wearing a leather jacket standing with his hands in his pockets
Courtesy Blair Caldwell
Blair Caldwell is a frequent collaborator with Beyoncé, but his work on Cowboy Carter has garnered global recognition.
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From the January/February 2025 issue

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