Richmond BC photographer named in Forbes 30 Under 30 list

A 23-year-old Richmond photographer has not only made a name for herself, but has recently been listed in the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30 magazine.

Cassidy Chen is in the magazine’s art and style list, made up of 600 North American industry professionals.

Forbes 30 Under 30 highlights 30 influential people under the age of 30 across 20 fields, from entertainment, sports, social impact and more.

People are nominated, and those selected are typically founders, creators, young professionals or rising stars.

The McMath alumna found out the big news on Dec. 2, in the middle night, after waking up at 3 a.m. with a sudden urge to check her phone.

“I checked my phone because I was feeling very nervous about it. I didn’t know if it was that day or not, but it was like I knew that it would come out around the third because of last year,” said Chen.

“I just jumped up and screamed and scared everybody in the house.”

Excitement ran through her, which Chen described as a “very surreal” moment. 

“I can’t even pinpoint the exact feeling. This is something that I’ve been wanting — a goal of mine that I thought I was going to get at 29 years old if I was lucky.”

Growing up, the Richmond resident has always wanted to be an entrepreneur of “some sort” since she was a kid.

“I’ve always looked up to Forbes, and I think Forbes is one of those publications that everyone looks to, especially in the business world,” Chen said.

Reading through the Forbes magazine every year, combing through the lists of people and what they were doing was one routine Chen never missed.

“I’m just in awe of what the next generation of people is going to do, and I think that’s very cool, so it’s always been a dream.”

Photography journey

Chen’s photography career started as early as family vacations with her relatives.

She said her relatives, bird photographers, introduced the camera to her, letting her borrow theirs when she was younger.

From there, Chen took an interest in a photography class in high school.

“I was kind of experimenting and then I took a photography class at McMath, and my wonderful teacher, Mr. Sharma, taught me more. He saw I was interested and really helped me there,” she said.

As a child, Chen also loved playing with dolls and dressing up and found an intersection between fashion and creative storytelling.

“I started because I wanted to make my friends feel confident, and we could be creative together. I realized I could make a career out of it, and that’s how I got my start,” she said.

Her first paid gig, Chen added, was during high school when two girls found her social media account and wanted a portrait shoot.

“There weren’t many followers on my Instagram, maybe a couple hundred, and I was very new and just experimenting,” she said.

“Just getting that first paid job was almost like validation that this could actually be a career for me.”

Since graduation and starting her journey, Chen has grown to become a fashion photographer and has worked with North American and European brands, including Lululemon and Feng Chen Wang.

Chen also recently made the New Gen list by the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards.

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