Life & Work with Gabrielle Desroches

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Desroches.

Hi Gabrielle, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a non-binary cinematographer who didn’t know they’d be a cinematographer up until last year.

I’ve always been a creative at heart. My passions and hobbies have always revolved around art, whether it be dancing, painting my nails, getting into makeup, or diving into the world of photography. I’ve always looked for ways to express myself and tell interesting stories no matter what I did, and when I did it, I would always go the extra mile to make the art stand out and resonate. To this day, I still dance and am diving into the world of SFX and character makeup. The hobby that I’d pick up that would get me to where I am today though, is my photography.

I picked up photography in high school and fell in love with it immediately. I knew I wanted to build a career in the photo world that would make sense for me, and at the time, I thought that the answer was marketing and shooting ad campaigns. So, I got my Bachelor’s in Marketing Communications. My senior year of the undergrad program, I took a film class as an elective, not thinking much of it. I explained to a classmate of mine that I had a photography background and just wanted to do something with a camera at the end of the day. Next thing I knew, that classmate had assigned me as a DP on their project, and the rest is history. I had so much fun working on that project, and when the film won my school’s film festival, as I was standing on stage accepting the award, it struck me like lightning that this was the career I wanted to chase for the rest of my life.

I signed up to New York Film Academy’s cinematography conservatory program as fast as I could and have learned so much since graduating from their program. After having worked on a multitude of short films and music videos as the Director of Photography, I know this is what I am meant to do.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been the smoothest road. It sounds sort of cliché, but being a queer afab (assigned female at birth) cinematographer in a cis-male dominated space has been challenging in this very competitive space. There’s more pressure to succeed to ensure I’m taken seriously, and there is a general lack of understanding of my identity throughout the industry. At the end of the day though, I love visually telling stories and the world deserves to see those stories.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I primarily work as a Cinematographer (also known as the Director of Photography). In addition to cinematography, I work as a Camera Assistant on productions (I work as both 1st and 2nd AC but have been working more 1st roles), an Editor, and a Photographer.

I am most well known for my use of color in my lighting design and for my photography as a whole. I’ve worked with both film and digital media for both cinema and photo projects. I like to use colors in the shot both lighting-wise and art direction-wise, that the medium best captures. I work closely with directors to ensure their vision is accurately achieved. I would say that I also have strong editing and cutting instincts, with a specialty in editing music videos.

I create colorful, bold, and romantic images that leave impressions on viewers. I am very proud of two projects I’ve shot: Born to be Bad for music artist Blake Corpse and Roses are Red, which was an experimental poetic film that I happened to also direct and was shot on Kodak film. Both are on track to be sent out to festivals soon, so look out for those! I am also working on taking a short I wrote and shot and turning it into my first full-length feature.

I think what sets me apart from others is how visually based I am to my core. My soul is fed when I get to visually express myself through many mediums other than film, that give me a strong understanding of how visual language and aesthetics work, and that shows in my work.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think the biggest risk I’ve taken is to re-direct my whole career and life essentially, based off of one moment in University on that film festival stage when that lightning hit. I went from studying a relatively stable corporate marketing workspace to pursuing more creative endeavors in an industry that is very tough to break through on a whim.

While it does have its challenges, I don’t regret it for a second. Life gets more fulfilling when you confidently pursue your dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gabrielledesroch.myportfolio.com/work
• Instagram: @gabi.camera
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielle-desroches-070a2a1aa/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8C6lYr2MU0-SMHO41U6qMg
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm15180231/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Image Credits
Ricardo H Photography // SharathVisions