Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Turner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jessica. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started off doing theatre in middle school. I attended George Bannerman Dealey Montessori Academy from the ages of 4-14. There, I learned what it was like to really be an artist and to want to explore a life that had nothing to do with four core subjects. From there, it was only right that I attend Booker T. Washington High School for The Performing and Visual Arts. I learned a lot of valuable life skills from that program and it truly shaped my experience as an artist furthermore. It also helped me to realize that while I loved the theatre, it wasn’t something I saw myself pursuing for the rest of my life. I began to use my mom’s camera to make “cool and artsy” Images that I thought would set me apart. I started to reject the performing side of myself and really hone in on my new found love. Photography. Inevitably, high school brought some not so great experiences, and I began to learn that the people who I had based my high school decision on were no longer the people I wished to be associated with. I made better friends and pushed myself harder to learn everything I could about the camera. Unfortunately, this was around my junior/senior year when it was time to start looking for colleges and begin the application process. My grades were nowhere near as good as they used to be and my motivation really plummeted. That is until I started my freshman year of college. I walked into orientation at Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) knowing it’s past as a notable photography school, but being on the fence about it’s “off-brand” name. I was so worried about what other people thought about the school I was choosing to spend my money at. Not going to lie, part of me was feeling really uppity about it. “I got into the School of Visual Arts for photography, why am I here??”, I would think to myself. The answer to that question really wasn’t hard to find. New York City is f****** expensive. Anyways, earlier that summer I had decided that I didn’t want to pursue an art degree and that I was going to get a degree in something that would get me a job. It wasn’t until my close friend Maya Moretta told me on the phone the night before we were to declare our majors that “you should go to school for something you care about, don’t do it if you don’t like it. You’ll never finish.” That stuck with me and gave me the push I needed to change my major from marketing to commercial photography. From there, It’s been a whirlwind. I met my boyfriend of three years, I became the youngest person in all of my advanced courses, I made the presidents list, I had my first solo exhibition, won first place in another, and I really just found my place and developed a style that I am so proud of.
Has it been a smooth road?
Challenge wise, people just don’t take me seriously. I’m a black female with the voice of a child, so a lot of times, I get overlooked. When/if that happens, use it to your advantage. If you’re going to overlook you, they better bring out their best work because yours could be better.
Another obstacle I face is oftentimes, I find myself becoming meek and feeling under-heard when I’m in spaces with people with strong personalities. If there’s anything I could fix right now, it’s my inability to speak up for fear of being thought of as challenging.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Jessica P. Turner Photography story. Tell us more about it.
At the moment, I have two bodies of work. My portraits and my Human Composites. My portraits really have been in the works for about a year and a half now. I’ve spent a majority of my time coming up with new techniques and studying fashion magazines and watching models work. My goal is to not only make the person look as cool as possible but to also make the image itself look as interesting and dynamic as possible. Whether that be with color, texture, expression or clothes. You could say I have a passion for fashion (yes, that is a Bratz reference).
My 2nd body of work is my Human Composites. They’re a series of images that have been digitally manipulated to no longer be themselves. In all cases, I have changed just enough about each person to skew the viewer’s idea of who this person is and what gender they are. My goal for these photos was for people to realize that no matter what gender this person looks to be, it doesn’t matter, you don’t know it all just treat them as a person should be treated and it will all be alright.
Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
Not necessarily. Of course, art played a huge role in my life as a child and that reflected in myself as an adult, but nothing else besides that
Pricing:
- Style Portraits B- 150$ for 2 hours of shooting and 20 edited and retouched images
- Headshots- 60$ for 3 professional and retouched headshots
- Style Portraits A- 90$ for one hour of shooting and 15 edited and retouched images
- Human Composite Print- 500$ (printed and framed) 25x25in
Contact Info:
- Website: jessicapatriceturner.com
- Email: jpturner.97@gmail.com
- Instagram: @jessicap.turner and @jturner_photo
Image Credit:
Photo of myself, Vonda Klimaszewski
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