Photography & styling courtesy of Tyler Okuns. By Akili King ·Updated February 14, 2026 /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

Couple-Care is a monthly series highlighting inspiring couples in our community. Each couple discusses how “couple-care” sustains their relationship, the self-care lessons they’ve learned from each other and more.

Couple Nakeya Brown and Larry Cook can relate on many things. Of course, there’s the love the married couple share for one another. But also, inseparable since the summer of 2016 after the two met at an art opening in DC, the Maryland-based couple are both artists and teachers. 

Brown, a Pennsylvania-born photo-educator, prides herself on “being able to immerse myself in the creative world of photography,” as Nakeya, whose work is soaked in nostalgia and Black women’s empowerment, tells ESSENCE. “On any given day, I’m making my own photographs, learning, or teaching something new,” she says. As for what keeps her going during busy seasons? “My students. I’ve discovered a sense of purpose right in my local community.”

Meanwhile, Larry is a PG County-born photography professor at

The post Couple-Care: Nakeya Brown & Larry Cook appeared first on Essence.