Mark Laita

Mark Laita is an American photographer, documentarian, and YouTuber born on February 1, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan, who began his career at age 15 photographing Chicago's homeless population.[3][4] He achieved success in commercial photography for global brands before transitioning to fine-art books like *Created Equal*, *Serpentine*, and *Soft White Underbelly*, and launching his acclaimed YouTube channel *Soft White Underbelly* in 2016, interviewing marginalized individuals such as the unhoused, sex workers, and drug users.[1][2][4] A Los Angeles-based artist with a degree from Columbia College and the University of Illinois at Chicago, his work has been exhibited internationally and is held in prominent collections.[4]