Meet Jess Brohier | Photographer + Creative Director

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

Hi Jess, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk and the ability to take risks has played a huge role in both my personal career as a photographer, and especially in the way of running the company I currently am.

There was a crossroads in both careers, where there were 2 pathways, one based on safety and security and the other based on potential opportunity.

At the first one, I left a stable creative job where I was basically getting paid to learn the Adobe suite in a very comfortable (albeit underpaid) role that I really enjoyed and had much creative freedom. I took on many roles and was able to succeed at all of them for an online furniture retailer. Instead of asking for a pay rise when it was well overdue, I decided to quit and go out on my own as a freelance photographer as my personal bookings had started to increase, and I had been turning them down to go to a day job. I ended up making my whole week’s wage in a day, probably 3 weeks after I left and despite being a journey of many ups and downs, it was the best decision I ever made.

The second crossroads was the beautiful heritage building I now call my studio becoming an option for a lease transfer. Myself and another creative whom I didn’t know very well at the time, nor did we have a great deal of savings between us – decided to sign a 2 year lease on a premier property with only one month’s rent being paid for us, and hence having one month to get the business off the ground to make the next month’s sizeable rent. We threw caution to the wind and decided we had to at least try.

A year and a half on from that, we’ve made it through 3 months of lockdown and a great deal of challenges, but now have created a really beautiful and important community space that houses a co-work, photo-studio and creative agency.
Each day is a different kind of hard but also a new kind of success, and we truly believe we are building something worth having. Slowly, it’s falling into place and we’re pushing along and growing constantly, without yet meeting financial failure.
The agency and studio is called Alt-House.

I’m so grateful to have taken both of these risks.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Hello!

I’m Jess, a photographer based in Melbourne, Australia. I primarily shoot fashion, still life and editorial. I feel like my work is informed by both my personal experience growing up in this country as a person of colour, and my deep love of art. I aim to tell stories through image about the subjects I capture and create images that inspire. Representation and changing the beauty narrative is key in my work. I am proud to share the beauty that is diversity to an audience and to create opportunities for minorities and those who have been overlooked in the visual culture of the western world.

It has been 9 years since I first started taking photos, and being self taught, it definitely felt like I took the long way around to a successful career. I’m grateful for every step though it was certainly not easy. From living week to week on an artist’s salary, to crippling self doubt there were definitely times when I wondered if I should keep going or change direction.
I guess it got easier with time, being that I built a network and became more skilled as the years went on. And then finally, began to actually like the work I was making.

The main lesson I learnt over the years was to firstly not give up, and also not to compare yourself or your journey with others, as tempting as it may be. If you can stay focused on your own path, I think that is the key to success. (Easier said than done)

Personally, I believe in the empowerment of others through creativity, and that there are ways to make changes in the world, but you have to strive to create those changes yourself, if you wish to see them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting me in Melbourne, I’d begin with a breakfast at a Minor Place in Brunswick. Home style food, set in a literal house, the menu is great and the place is super cosy. Next we’d go on a little shopping trip, I’d take them to Error 404, a cool multi-brand store in Fitzroy North owned by an awesome friend of mine, who is a local clothing designer. From there, to visit my studio, Alt-House in Fitzroy, where we will probably be holding a cool slow fashion pop-up market.

Then we’d go down the road and have lunch and a Tommy’s Marg at Lil Hops, a cute taco spot on Brunswick Street, and the closest thing to LA Mexican I’ve found in the city.
There, we’d kill some time before gallery openings, and we’d head to Oigall Gallery on Gertrude St, then At the Above to see what’s happening.
Dinner would be at Chin Chin, a super cool Asian Fusion restaurant in the CBD, and then drinks and pool afterward back at Paradise Alley in Collingwood.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Grace Moore is a film-maker and editor, and my incredible business partner. She jumped headfirst into running our studio and agency Alt-House with me and has been the greatest support ever since. She has given this journey her all from the start and continues to grow and amaze me with her strength, kindness and resilience.

Website: www.jessbrohier.com

Instagram: @jessbrohier

Image Credits
Image of Alt-House – Natalie Jurrjens All other images – Jess Brohier