On December 12, 2019, Apple took to it’s Instagram page to celebrate captivating authentic real-life images of Amazigh women with its new iPhone 11 Pro. To test the phone’s camera, they commissioned photographer Robbie Lawrence to travel to Ait Ouaouman, Kenifra, Morocco to participate in a local carpet weaving workshop.
Lawrence photographed Amazigh (Berber) women wearing their traditional dress. The women were pictured alongside their weaving stations and woven Berber carpet creations. In reflecting on the camera and it’s performance, Lawrence expressed “The workshops of the Amazigh women provided a deep, low light that reminded me of Baroque period paintings. I was able to capture intimate details with incredible depth and quality.”
The Amazigh (free people) often referred to as “Berbers” are the original inhabitants of North Africa and Morocco. In Morocco, the Berber population estimate is 12 million with various tribes being located from the Northern Rif Mountains to the Sahara Desert region.