Roy DeCarava grew up in New York City at a time when African American arts were flourishing. DeCarava knew and admired Romare Bearden, Langston Hughes, and Charles White. He shared their pride in African American culture and the Harlem community.

He studied painting, sculpture, and architecture at Cooper Union college and attended the Harlem Community Art Center and the George Washington Carver Art School. But even before his formal studies, DeCarava had begun making visual art. Although he first used photography as a reference for paintings, it soon became his primary medium.

In 1952, DeCarava became the first African American photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship. He used the grant to record the rich complexity of the Harlem community and show all aspects of his subjects’ lives. He also revolutionized his technique, determined to use only available light, not flash or artificial illumination. He published many of the photographs in a 1955 book, The Sweet Flypaper of Life, a collaboration with Langston Hughes.