Tether Cincinnati
Connected Creators

Tips for Cincinnati creative freelancers, entrepreneurs, and business owners

Featured Talent: Jasmine Lawrence

Welcome to Featured Talent, where we chat with the creative folks in our #TetherCincy family.

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Photographer Jasmine Lawrence is, in her own words, a natural-born artist: a left-handed, right-side-of-the-brain creative.
She picked up her camera with the intent to become a fashion and lifestyle blogger, and hasn’t put it down yet. We were smitten with Jasmine’s creative fashion vlogs and caught up with her to chat about her process.


Tell the Tether fam a bit about your background.

I started my career in entertainment when I started dancing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After seeing how the entertainment industry was run, everything from the marketing to the promotional side (you know, the behind-the-scenes type of work,) I knew I was headed in the right direction. I went to college for marketing and somehow ended up as a photographer. I picked up a camera with the intent to become a fashion/lifestyle blogger and I have yet to put the camera down! I started my career as a photographer assistant and tech with one of my favorite mentors to date: Marcus Ezell (look him up, he's amazing!!!). After working my way up under Marcus’ direction, I was really able to build my understanding for art direction, styling, composition, etc.

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Where does your inspiration for these videos come from?

The inspiration for my videos really stems from my marketing background. I love watching ads. I was one of those kids that would walk into the store and watch the promo the store had running on their monitors. The music and b-roll were very intriguing for some reason.

Why did you decide to use videos to showcase your styling instead of, say, a blog post?

I have to be honest. I speak English well, and I was in Honors English in high school, but I am not a great writer. Expressing myself through movement and music has always been a part of me. I happen to be a great visual storyteller.

Do you use storyboards or inspiration boards to create the flow for your videos?

Yes, storyboards are my best friend! Every now and again I find myself free-styling content. But for the most part, I use storyboards to ensure I get the shot I’m looking for. To anyone who’s starting off in the creative industry: I would highly recommend using a storyboard.

What's your editing process like? What software you use? Do you do everything yourself?

I do all my editing myself. I'm currently using Final Cut Pro. It's extremely user friendly for anyone starting out.

How can clients use video to promote their brands? What sets video apart from blog posts or Instagram as a useful tool?

Clients really can use the content that I create for their website promotions, in-store video ads, Instagram, and more. With every video I create, I also make a short teaser for their social media audience. The video content is really an added layer to the voice of their brand. Who doesn't love videos? Especially with the way Insta stories and Snapchat have taken over!

How else do you use videos to show off your creative skills?

I create videos for my personal life, too. I have a daughter that I share the most beautiful moments with, so I find myself putting together my own home videos of my life has a mother and as a wife—you know, some Beyonce-type videos!

Will you be making more videos? Can people request certain looks for you to make a video about?

I am always looking for new ideas for videos. One of my most-requested videos was my shoe lookbook. My followers asked and I provided.

What's your favorite thing about using videos to share your creativity?

I don’t really have a favorite thing about this process. Everything about it fun and exciting!

What’s next on the horizon for you?

I'll be opening up a studio this fall and providing my followers and baes with more content that will inspire and bring light to this crazy time.

Find Jasmine online at:

Website: colorpopstudio.com
Instagram: JasminesStudio_
YouTube: JasminesStudio_

- Leyla Shokoohe