12 Visually Stunning Black-And-White Photos To Remember From Beyoncé's 'Lemonade'

By Shalwah Evans · Updated December 6, 2020

When you’re a boss like Beyoncé, when life hands you lemons, you not only make an entire visually stunning work called Lemonade, you body someone else’s Super Bowl halftime show with it, parlay that into an epic Coachella phenomenon, and take over whatever parts of the world you didn’t already have under your spell. And you do it all while never spilling a drop of your juice.

But when Beyoncé first debuted her Lemonade album, the world went wild over the content, which mostly referenced infidelity in her marriage. It almost came first to the stunning images of the visual component for the songs. Almost.

So last Tuesday when we celebrated National Lemonade Day, we retreated back to our ambivalent sweet spot—torn between loving everything about the album, and sour about what inspired it all. Because we’ll take any opportunity to celebrate how dope Beyoncé looked in all the videos and performances from the album, we’re using National Lemon Juice Day to do that.

These black and white photographs from Beyonce.com and Instagram show the mother, wife, singer, actress, entrepreneur, influencer, mogul, and all-around inspiration in such real and raw beauty. We’re squeezing out a celebration to continue the celebration of Bey’s baby hair, afros, negro nose and “Jackson Five nostrils” in all their glory.

01

Pray You Catch Her Drip

Beyoncé wore beautiful jumbo twists in what appears to be her natural hair. The tiny Africa earrings are subtle, but are the perfect complement to this statement beauty look.

02

Resurrection, Rebirth, Revival, Reawakening

With little makeup and her signature flowing tresses, Queen Bey still gave a lewk. Her white gown and natural beauty reminded us of rebirth and reawakening—important elements of moving forward.

03

She Has That Intuition

Perhaps we need a head wrapping lesson from Beyoncé (and her slay team), because whenever she wears a headwrap she gets it so right. With an an almost inner glow exuding out, her stare pierces you in this photo. You want to tell her all your secrets.

04

Snatched Out The Frame

The horse in this photo from the “Daddy Lessons” video is a beautiful addition to the shot. While the focus here is on Bey, you can’t help but look at the majestic creature and see the contrast in the beauty of the two figures.

05

Ladies, Get In Formation

Yoncé taught ladies how to get in formation and what it truly meant to slay in that video. Everything from her braids to her fingernails had beautiful intricate details that were captured in this candid shot.

06

We Love Her All Night Long

This shot of the singer could easily be Solange, Tina Lawson, or Blue Ivy Carter in the future. With a clean face and beautiful curls, she showed us how strong her feminine familial genes really are.

07

Girls Still Run The World

The singer made haters uncomfortable when she led an “army” of women in a performance of “Formation” at Super Bowl 50. Her black attire and Black power messaging was too much for some, further proving that she does it for the culture.

08

Part Of Our Tribe

Between the tribal face markings and chic ponytails, this look gave us chills. It was one of many where the singer nodded to her African ancestry, getting creative with her hair and complementary jewels.

09

Don’t Try To Roll Her Up

When you slay this hard you can’t make apologies for it. In one of the biggest girl anthems on the album Bey gave look after look. But nothing was better than seeing her in long box braids side by side with another queen, Serena Williams.

10

She Could Move A Mountain

This close up shot on Beyoncé’s thick twists gives a sharper view at the intricate details in the parts, the different colors woven into the style, and how polished the look finished.

11

Beyoncé With The Good Hair

The Nefertiti crown that took hours to create was immediately a standout when the video for “Sorry” dropped. In juxtaposition to Becky’s “good hair,” it’s a statement honoring the beauty of Black hair and all the falsehoods that we’ve been taught to believe about it as Black women.

12

She Did Not Come To Play

She came to slay in New Orleans, Texas, New York, LA—it never stops. Whether she’s rocking knee-length braids with a derby or her honey blond flowy ‘do, she is, and remains a beauty to behold.