Niccolo Cosme
Niccolo Cosme (born May 15, 1980, in Cavite, Philippines) is a conceptual photographer based in Manila. His father, Caesar Colet Cosme, is a television writer and director. Cosme appeared on Celebrity Duets: Philippine Edition Season 3, a singing reality show produced by Fremantle Media and Simon Cowell that aired on GMA 7.
An outspoken LGBT activist, he hosted the "I Am Not Immoral" photo exhibition to protest the exclusion of the LGBT group Ang Ladlad from the 2010 elections. He is also an HIV/AIDS awareness advocate and started The Red Whistle campaign in 2011 to raise awareness in the Philippines. His interest in Christian iconography earned him an international photography win from the Professional Photographers of America in Korea in 2011. In February 2012, Cosme received Ani ng Dangal ("Harvest of Honors") from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, along with 32 other Filipino artists.
In 2007, Cosme started "Project Headshot Clinic," a digital concept that blends online profile photos with advertising and advocacy. He sees profile photos as "online billboards," which attracted attention from major brands and from UNAIDS. The project expanded to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Macau in 2008. He created "COSME XXX" in 2010, a personal tribute to "pain" inspired by Christian imagery such as the Madonna, the Crucifixion, and the Pieta.
In May 2011, he collaborated with the Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines), the Foreign Service Institute, ACHIEVE, and UNDP on the photo exhibit "Resplendor" (Blinding Light), which explored HIV/AIDS realities in the Philippines. In October 2024, Cosme founded Midnight Dream Studio, described by Metro.Style as the biggest photoshoot studio in the country and the largest indoor studio in Metro Manila. The 1,000-square-meter space on the 4th floor of On Top of the Glo, K-Park, Glorietta Mall in Makati features more than 40 dream-themed sets that can be changed to fit trends. It serves as a collaborative venue for artists, brands, and content creators to support creativity, innovation, and community engagement. Cosme is the owner, creative director, photographer, and CEO of Midnight Dream Studio, while business operations are handled by partners.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:27 (CET).