Today we’d like to introduce you to Jade DeRose.
Hi Jade, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I moved to LA about two years ago now from Boston, MA where I attended Emerson College. I didn’t study photography at Emerson, but I did fall in love with it there. The cool thing about my major, Media Studies, was the opportunity to play with different mediums without having to commit to one. I wanted to learn it all and as a Media Studies major, I was allowed to take classes from nearly every major and from that, meet other creatives, many of which were photographers. While my major was focused on studying art, my relationship with my peers further motivated me to create it. And I did. Shortly after graduating, I moved to LA to pursue photography. In my first year here, I hustled hard. I was working as a full-time barista, a part-time photo assistant and still managed to make time for my own shoots.
After my first year, I was able to pursue my own photography full time, but the hustle didn’t stop there. I was eager to do more and fortunately, I found myself in a position where I could. I wanted my next step to be something big, so I asked myself, what do I wish was different about my experience as an aspiring photographer in LA? The answer was access to an affordable user-friendly space. A space that provided new photographers, like I had been, the opportunity to learn to work with professional equipment in a professional studio at a low rate. So, I created Orange Studio. I don’t like to limit Orange as a “photo studio” I like to think of it as a launching pad for new creatives. Post covid, I’ll be expanding Orange with workshops and other hands-on activities for these new creatives to fully experience the purpose of Orange Studio.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For the most part, it has been a pretty smooth ride. I wanted to make sure before I opened the studio that I had enough knowledge, experience and established relationships with other creatives to both build the space and fill it. A good friend of mine, Sean Perreira, helped me build out the space, which was probably the most difficult part of the process- building a freestanding cyc wall is not the easiest thing to do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I like to think of myself as a photographer first and a business owner second. Or maybe both equally. Either way, I love what I do and I can’t express that enough. As a photographer, I work really closely with a lot of artists in the music industry, working on press stuff, or album artwork, even some creative direction- this is my favorite kind of work to do and I’m really proud of what’s been put out so far. What sets me apart from other photographers is my relationship with the subject. I’ve learned that “good vibes” on a set can completely affect the outcome of the work. When you have good energy, the work just looks better.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Starting a business during a pandemic is the ultimate risk, so I would call myself a risk-taker. In my opinion, it’s part of the hustle. I’m a firm believer in no risk, no reward.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@orangestudiola.com
- Website: orangestudiola.com
- Instagram: @orangestudiola
