Meet Jayme Burrows | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jayme Burrows and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jayme, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I’m a planner and a goal setter and I think that’s really helped me sustain a career over a long period of time. I make 3 month, 1 year, 3 year, and 5 year personal and professional goals and constantly check in on them to make sure that I’m directing my energy in the right direction to get to where I want to go. It’s so easy to get lost in the day to day and be “busy” but not actually be working towards the lifetime goals you’re wanting to achieve.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve been in the photography world for a long time now and I’ve got a stable roster of returning clients, a studio in Highland Park, and have generally hit a point where work is consistent and I feel like the trajectory of my career is right where I want it to be at this point in my life, but it took years of ups and downs and struggle to get here.

I graduated from photography school at the height of the recession and there was almost no work out there for me. I expected to graduate and start working immediately, but that didn’t happen. I continued to wait tables and apply for jobs, and put my work out there, but my photography income was pretty non-existent. I then enrolled in grad school to earn my MFA and that kept me from leaving the industry completely and gave me some time to hone my skills further and for the economy to improve.

Once I finished all of my schooling it still took me years to get my career really rolling to the point where I could sustain myself on photography alone. It took hustle and persistence but eventually things started to coalesce and work became more consistent.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite thing to do in the city is to take a morning hike in Griffith Park with my partner and our pups, then stop by the Trails Cafe and get a chai latte and a bite to eat. It’s amazing that this huge wilderness area exists in the middle of a bustling metropolis and I think visitors are always surprised that so much nature can be found in the city.

I have so many things I love to do in LA, but I love to send people to eat at Night Market Song in Silverlake, stroll around the Huntington Gardens in Pasadena, to see a show at the Hollywood Bowl or the Greek Theater, have dinner Animal in Fairfax, maybe a bop around the Sunday Hollywood Farmer’s Market, or a Dodgers game on a beautiful, sunny LA afternoon, and Donut Friend may turn you into a vegan . There are so many great reasons to live here!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate this shout out to the other female commercial photographers in the Los Angeles area! We are still a severely underrepresented group and although we’ve made progress this is still a world dominated by men. These women who I know through the Los Angeles Women’s Photography Alliance, The Luupe, and Stocksy United have been a never-ending well of support and encouragement throughout my time in LA. Whether it’s help with a bid, assisting on set, or just good people to share a cocktail with and vent to, these women have made LA my home.

Website: www.jaymeburrows.com

Instagram: instagram.com/jaymeburrows

Image Credits
©Jayme Burrows