No products in the cart.
Jaz’min Franks is a talented artist with over five years of photography experience who strives to create beautiful, timeless art that is representative of the black community. She hones in on her skill of creative direction in both collaboration and producing her own high-quality art.
Advisor.: “What inspires your work as a fashion photographer?”
Jaz: “I would say my current inspiration that fuels most of my fashion shoots is thrifting. I am not someone who has a ton of money and shopping within my means is a big thing for me. Despite having to do so, there’s a lot of affordable sites to shop from these days that I sometimes use, but I get most excited when I find a piece that has been thrown away by someone else and use it to create a beautiful photo. I often choose a single piece of clothing and build off of that until I’ve tailored the photoshoot to fit the vibe of whatever outfit I’ve constructed. Financing your own art projects can be costly and the fact that I’ve been able to really tap into thrifting as a means of expressing myself has helped me grow as a photographer tremendously.”
Advisor.: “As a black female fashion photographer, what obstacles have you faced in navigating the fashion landscape whether locally or as a whole?”Jaz: “I feel for me locally my challenge has been finding different models to work with who are not only comfortable in front of the camera but are also thinking outside of the box when it comes to posing. I’ve felt limited by this aspect because I’ve felt there were only two models I’ve worked with in recent years who understood what was needed when they stepped in front of my lens. I feel a lot of models give catalogue or runway poses when there’s so many more possibilities in how the body can be posed or move to really accentuate the outfit, location or props”
Advisor.: “What does your creative process look like?”Jaz: “I usually build my photoshoots based off of an outfit I’ve pieced together or a location I’ve seen repeatedly. I’ll find random places while I’m driving through the city and make a mental note of possible shoot locations. I thrift mostly, but also shop online for the perfect pieces to align with the vibes of the shoot. Once I find either or I construct the location and outfit to compliment each other. Most of my concepts come from personal experiences, history, or just life itself. Once I figure out the outfit, location and concept I can begin to practice or bookmark poses I want to execute in the shoot to convey the message I want. Once I have a full thought out concept that’s when I begin to think about what models I’d like to use that’ll be able to compliment the vibe I’m going for. Lately I’ve been using myself and fellow model/creative director @Nolathemodel as it’s hard finding models most times. After I’ve ironed out all these details I’m ready to shoot. I feel like not many people have an idea of the exact shots they want from a shoot. Ninety percent of the time I know exactly what I want and how I want to test the boundaries when it comes to angels, composition, lighting, etc. Shoot days are usually long, minimum of two hours and consist of music and smoking beforehand to clear my mind. I know that’s probably an unconventional way to start a
photoshoot process but it helps me slow down mentally to
ensure I hit everything I need to. I also recently picked up on
making a physical shot list to truly ensure I hit everything I
planned before I improvise. I’m not big on taking a thousand
photos and I truly believe in quality over quantity. Instead of
getting a thousand different photos I’ll play around with one
pose or the composition and tweak it until I feel it’s just right.
After a shoot I’m usually drained and won’t touch or look at
the photos for at least the next 2-3 days, sometimes a week. I
need to decompress after a shoot because I usually put a ton
of energy into each project I do and it can be mentally
draining once it’s finally shot. After I take a breather I usually
go through the photos one time through to get an idea of what
I have to work with. Then the second time through I write
down the 1st round picks for editing and behind the scenes.
Once I’ve picked what will be edited and go in and do so I’ll do
another round of choosing what photos will actually make it
into posting and/or proposals for potential clients”
Advisor.: “How do you strive to promote diversity and
inclusivity through your photography?”
Jaz: “I’ve always had a love for using dark skinned models in my photos. We know very well that only recently has there been a wave of people being more inclusive of darker skin tones in the media. The fashion industry has not been kind to darker skinned women/men and as a light skinned mixed woman I felt what better way to pay homage to black men/women then to make beautiful timeless art with them. To show just how beautiful they are despite the world telling them for decades, centuries even, that they were less than in every way possible. When I die I want my art to live on for generations to show them just how beautiful they always have been and will be.”
Advisor.: “Looking to the future, what are your goals and aspirations as a fashion photographer?”
Jaz: “Honestly until now I hadn’t even considered myself a fashion photographer but thinking about it now I hope my team grows. Wearing so many hats can be very depleting and I feel having an all black woman media team would make for even more amazing shoots. I work with some local creative black women who have taught me so much and helped me grow as an artist myself. I would also love the opportunity to work with fashion companies to create conceptual shoots around their clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, etc. but have full creative control.”
Fashion As much as Freaknik has been mentioned over the decades
about how controversial it seemed to be – leading to this year’s Hulu documentary ; Read More
Beauty The interplay of colors, textures, and shapes creates a visual symphony that delights the eye and captivates the soul. Read More
Celebrity The interplay of colors, textures, and shapes creates a visual symphony that delights the eye and captivates the soul. Read More
I’m sharing exactly what’s going on with the basement design project
right now and what’s happening next.
