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Read MoreMy Client Collaboration with Kámen Road
Over the last 3 months, I've been creating content for Kámen Road. I've been creating instagram posts, website images, and blog interviews. They asked me as a final task to do an interview for them. You can read the full interview here, or read below!
How did you choose the creative field that you are in?
It kind of just happened. I was always a creative person growing up but didn’t decide on pursuing something creative until half way through college. I received my degree in Industrial Design but later, fell into photography. I took photos for my school’s fashion magazine and fell in love with the craft. After college, I wanted to take more photos and eventually it blossomed into what I do today.
How do you approach a creative project?
I like to sketch out initial ideas, flip through magazines, go to the latest museum exhibit or scroll through Pinterest. From there, if it’s a photo project, I like to get a team together. Depending on budget, or what it’s for will determine who will be on the team. If the budget is higher, I’ll hire a makeup artist, hair artist, stylist, model and assistant. If the budget is lower, it will likely just be me and the model who will likely just be a friend who is willing to work for free. After the team is established, I’ll shoot the project, edit it, then deliver it to the client and/or share it for my social media audience.
What would you say is the goal that you have for all your different projects?
My goal is to become a creative director. I would love to be a creative director of a fashion label, big or small. I know that this takes time, patience and a lot of experience. A lot of people think they are creative directors, but don’t actually know what it takes to become one. You have to know art history, advertisement history, graphic design, photography, typography etc to really know how to direct a brand in the right direction. I hope that I can truly master all those skills in the future to fulfill my goal.
Who are your biggest influence(s)?
My biggest influence at the moment is Gary Vee and if you own a small business, or any business of that matter, I encourage you all to listen to his Podcasts or YouTube videos. He teaches you how to approach social media tactics, how to improve your business and why creating an Internet presence is relevant. He says the older generation might say, “Oh kids these days don’t enjoy life and are always on their screens” but then he says, “Yeah, and it’s not gonna change, so get with it, or get left behind.” This world is changing, and it always changes generation to generation, so I believe it’s important to adapt to the change.
My other big influences are my parents who are both entrepreneurs and encourage my dreams/ goals.
How do you stay in your best creative space?
It honestly changes all the time. I get rushes of creativity and then sometimes I hit dead ends. I just listen to inspirational people in the industry, meet new people and travel.
How do you define fashion?
Fashion is what you make of it. It can be crazy. It can be tame. It’s honestly up to you. I think the best fashion is when it makes people question everything. This is why Alexander Wang is one of my favorite designers. His designs are emotive. They can make you uncomfortable, but I enjoy that. A lot of fashion is passive and doesn’t have purpose and I hate that. Whether it’s being sustainable, creating art or expressing an emotion, fashion should have a purpose, or else I think it’s a waste of resources.
How can people work with you?
If people want to work with me they can direct message me on Instagram or email me at genet@genetjeanpierre.com . I read and respond to every message!
Thank you Genét!
Sweet Dream
One day, my uncle sent me his old fraternity picture (scroll to the bottom to see the picture). I was instantly inspired by their closeness/ their relationship with each other. I wanted to create the same feeling and keep with the aesthetic but with a modern twist. So, I rented out this STUNNING Airbnb in Minneapolis for the day. The owners of the Airbnb were so nice and welcoming and were creatives themselves, so fully understood why I wanted to use their place to shoot in. I’m so grateful for my patient and talented team who helped put this vision together! Let me know your favorite image in the comments below!
Credits:
Photographer: Me, Genét Jean-Pierre
Models: Jordan Starks and Maiya Hartman
Stylists: Trevor Small & Sophia Stewart
Makeup: Quinn Nelson
Lighting: César Buitrago
BTS/Video: Muktaar Hassan
Thank you so much for looking through this editorial that me and my team put together. If you'd like to buy one of the images for your home you can click here or go to the 'shop' section of my website. All proceeds will go to creating more beautiful images, and buying equipment to continue improving my craft <3! Stay tuned for behind-the-scenes coming soon. Till next time!
Inspiration Picture:
Original
Recreation shot by César Buitrago
Denying My Artistry
I’ve always denied being an artist.
When I was younger, I was that artsy fartsy kid. I was constantly covered in glitter or face down in my sketchbook scribbling away doodles, dreams and imagining worlds and people from lands far away. Every year until about sixth grade, we had a “nice comment” day during which we wrote compliments to each other on brightly colored construction paper. Mine would be filled with “you’re so creative,” “artist,” “so artsy,” etc. Being a young and dumb adolescent, I hated the fact that my reputation was linked to my creativity. I wanted to be known for being funny, pretty, nice, smart or something more tangible. Unfortunately, the struggle to balance who I was and who I thought I should be followed me for years.
In high school, I pushed away my artistic side and went for business. I joined business clubs, took business classes, started my own business and hardly expressed myself artistically until my senior year. Then, I decided to take yearbook. It was something simple that didn’t require me to look at projections for the next fiscal year. When they asked me what committee I wanted to be a part of, I chose the photo department because they rented out nice DSLR cameras.
My passion for photography grew through being a part of yearbook. I had no idea what I was doing but I loved capturing expressions of people as they laughed in the cafeteria, action shots of people playing rugby, or magnificent murals painted by the art department. It was real, it was raw (but actually .jpg because I didn’t know what raw was), and I became addicted to taking photographs.
When I graduated high school and entered college, I knew I didn’t want to give up photography. I signed up for “Fresh Fotos,” a club in which freshmen documented their first year of school. There, I met one of my closest photo buddies and mentor. He taught me how to properly use a DSLR, shoot in manual, and edit using Photoshop. The following year, we joined the schools fashion magazine and I became his assistant. Being a part of a team that created a magazine every semester was magical. When the issues would come out the feeling it gave me was indescribable. It was euphoric. It was art. The art created with photography lifted the veil from something I’d been pushing away for so long.
After I graduated college, photography was the only thing that made sense to me. I would set up low budget shoots with clothes from my closet or Goodwill and makeup/ hair messily done from tutorials I watched on Youtube. I conceptualized a shoot, asked a friend to be a part of it, shot, edited, put out my work on social media and repeated. Over time, it gained traction, and people started to recognize me for my work. Before long, stylists began to reach out to me, then makeup artists, hair stylists and models. Clients began to build up, and I was able to get to a point of consistent work in the photography field. People saw potential and passion in me that I didn’t want to accept for years. Once I stopped denying my true self, I felt free. I am able to pursue my art, photography, with passion. I can say proudly that I am an artist and express myself through photography.
If you’d like to purchase the magazine I’m in, you can do so with the link here! The magazine is filled with other photographers, models, and creatives who are trying to push through the mold and redline!
If you purchase it, make sure to put my name “Genet Jean-Pierre” at check out so you can support me and my work ❤️
The Pink Bathroom Photoshoot
H Collective gave me the prompt to do something creative for their company. I recently went to a donut shop in town, Glam Doll Donuts, and noticed that their bathroom was a dope pink color. I knew that Maiya was the perfect model for this shoot because of her vibrant purple hair. Scroll down to see the full collection!
I snapped my $30 Amazon Flash onto my camera and styled her in outfits from Goodwill and Target.
You don't have to be rich to produce a dope shoot. Till next time.