Photographer | Creative Director | Visual Artist
Los Angeles, CA | Mumbai, India
Nilangana Banerjee, widely recognized as Olive in the creative industry, is a Los Angeles-based photographer, creative director, and multidisciplinary visual artist originally from Mumbai, India. Known for her emotionally charged narratives and cinematic compositions, Olive blends the worlds of commercial imagery and conceptual fine art to craft visually immersive stories that challenge, inspire, and resonate.
Her journey began in the bustling heart of Mumbai, where a childhood surrounded by cameras, darkroom chemicals, and family photo albums sparked an early obsession with visual storytelling. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Still Photography & Audio-Visual Production in Mumbai, followed by a master's from the renowned Light & Life Academy in Ooty. Olive later moved to the United States, graduating summa cum laude with an MFA in Photography from the New York Film Academy, under the mentorship of internationally acclaimed photographers and visual thinkers.
Currently serving as Lead Photographer, Head of Creative Production, and Director of Photography at Comprehensive Sourcing Solutions / HANHOO USA in Los Angeles, Olive has led and directed numerous high-impact campaigns for beauty, skincare, and fashion brands. Her commercial portfolio includes collaborations with Amazon, Forever 21, Walmart, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Target, delivering polished visuals that blend product integrity with storytelling finesse.
Simultaneously, Olive runs her independent practice, Nilangana Banerjee Photography, where her personal work focuses on identity, memory, mental health, and the female gaze. Her fine art series, such as “The Selves” and “The Lullaby of the Cells,” explore the nuanced layers of human psychology, dissociation, and emotional duality. Influenced by artists like Tim Walker, Cindy Sherman, Erwin Olaf, and filmmakers such as Tim Burton and Martin Scorsese, Olive uses color, shadow, and space as emotional triggers in her compositions.
Her work has been featured in VICE, PhotoVogue, MALVIE France, L’ATTIRANCE, STYLECRUZE LA, CanvasRebel, VoyageLA, LA Weekly, Tinseltown News, and exhibited internationally, including at Photoville NYC and Schomburg Gallery, Santa Monica.
Beyond the lens, Olive is an advocate for mental wellness, women in the arts, and cultural representation. Her goal is to build a full-service art and production house that amplifies underrepresented voices, tells transformative stories, and redefines how visual narratives shape human understanding.
Whether working with global brands or exploring deep psychological themes in her art, Olive remains driven by one mission:
to create art that feels, speaks, and stays.
