Remember how Rihanna announced her first pregnancy? It was a moment that, as they say, broke the internet. She and A$AP Rocky chose to do it through paparazzi-style photos, taken with their chosen paparazzo, Miles Diggs. In other words, they were staged, but not with a major photo agency, and not specifically for a magazine, but with a free agent, a young Black photographer, Miles Diggs, who made his name waiting for celebrities outside the usual spots, alongside paps and fans.
And now for the first photos their second child, Riot Rose, Rihanna and Rocky have gone back to Miles for their family portrait.
You can see more shots here and here at British Vogue and at other outlets that have purchased the photos. We did not buy them because they are VERY expensive, so all we can do is share the one shot that Miles shared on his own Instagram and link to the other places that have the budget.
And I’m talking about money here because this is also what Rihanna and Rocky intended back when she was pregnant with RZA – for a young creative like Miles to profit from the images. She didn’t post the pictures that he took of her then to her social media accounts and, similarly, she hasn’t posted these new photos to her channels. The point is to make this beneficial for Miles and it’s not like there would be any concern that these images wouldn’t sell. This is Rihanna. We care about everything to do with Rihanna. We care about the outfit – a fire pair of blue legging boots under a slouchy denim jacket, face card in place, hair is giving, and everyone looks good all together but not too matchy matchy. That said, of course the best dressed family member here is little big brother RZA with his hair long and braided and that BELT!
RiRi and Rocky waited a lot longer to premiere RZA and originally they had planned to do it on the cover of British Vogue but ended up going through Jason Lee’s blog, Hollywood Unlocked, after they got papped. This time, clearly, they decided to roll out Riot’s shots earlier so as to not end up in the same situation and assume full control of the situation while, always, looking to support others in the industry in the process. As usual, especially where Rihanna is concerned, it’s intentional and it’s smart.
