Barboza began his 37-year photography career with the Kamoinge Workshop and is still an active member of this long-running group of photographers. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Barboza has photographed for Time, Life, Essence, National Geographic, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Oprah, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, Forbes and Fortune. He was assistant curator of the Brooklyn Museum's 2001 show "Committed to the Image: Contemporary Black Photographers."