Portrait of JASSIEUO photo credit: @exquisite_eye (Bree)
Introduce yourself?
– I’m JASSIEUO. My full name is Jasmine and I’m a photographer/creative. Originally from Detroit, I’ve been shooting for about 6 years. I recently moved to LA from Chicago and I work mostly on portraits, fashion look books, editorials and occasionally I am dabbling in video.
Being from Detroit and moving from Chicago to LA, what kind of impact did these cities leave on you and your artistry?
– Being from Detroit and making these moves has been the best decision for my creative process. Detroit was very safe, but I learned my work ethic there. Chicago was a great experience and challenge for me because I learned how to manage my time on top of creating a unique aesthetic in the process of developing my work as an artist and growing my audience.
LA has brought a mental adjustment for me and I’m still in the process of this chapter, so we’ll see how things pan out from here. Overall, the surroundings of each city has given me a greater outlook on not just my work, but my day to day life as well.
How did you fall in love with photography?
– I believe it was a long love process. I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures and I didn’t really exercise the craft until my last year in high school. I guess the love started there and it became super serious after attending a semester at Columbia College.
How was that transition of leaving school to becoming a full-time artist?
– Leaving School and becoming a full time artist wasn’t easy at first. I didn’t finish college, which now I’m glad that I didn’t haha. At the time it was very defeating, but it did give me the drive to continue. I knew I could manage to still fulfill my dreams regardless of a piece of paper. It takes more work and a lot more dedication, but it is possible.
I really love the powerful representation of Woman in your work, especially Woman of Color. Why is representation so important and how does it shape your art?
– I was raised by women. The amount of women in my family is a lot larger than men. I didn’t realize until recently that because of that, I am drawn to capturing women. I see strength in powerful women, yet we are still soft and compassionate when we want to be. I love the range we can give both in front of the camera and behind it.
What are some obstacles you faced being a Woman in an industry that is still dominated with males? How can we combat and push back and any advice for Woman who are aspiring to do the same and chase their dreams?
– Being in a male dominated industry bothered me a lot more when I first started photography. There were only men I could go to for advice on shooting or how exactly things worked. However, there are more and more women in the field and I’m loving everything about us having a chance to showcase our views as women. I appreciate the sisterhood amongst female photographers. We root for one another. Women aspiring to be photographers should just pick up a camera. Let your eye wander and go after what you desire from this field. We have more power than we know.
Visually, the first thing I noticed was the diversity of texture and color you had in your images and how the combinations of that with your model help create a story. What is your creative process like and where do you draw inspiration?
– My process starts with color, I’ve been forcefully incorporating blues into my palettes. From there I normally browse Pinterest to express my inspiration to the team and bounce ideas off their minds as well. It really was just a trial of risk and error, making lots of room for mistakes because they work for me oddly haha.
Many artists use multiple mediums to tell their stories, what other art forms do you use in your artistic practice?
– I’ve been issuing video lately and I want to dive more into that, I’ve also painted in the past.
From working with artists like Jamila Woods and Mick Jenkins to collaborating with Nike and VSCO, what more can we look forward to in the future?
– A larger scale of things is soon to come.
For more information on JASSIEUO, check out her site here.
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