Meet Jessica Lee | Photographer

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

Hi Jessica, what is the most important factor behind your success?
The most important factor is to keep pushing and not give up even if it feels like it opportunities aren’t coming as fast or consistently as you thought.

In the creative industry, especially in Los Angeles, I feel like many begin our journeys fantasizing about a “big break”. “If I star in this movie, I’ll make it”, “If I can sell out a show here, I’ll get signed by a record label”, “If I do X, Y and Z then this big moment is going to happen and I’ve made it”.

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big and please keep dreaming big but don’t let it blind you from all the smaller wins, opportunities and letting it beat yourself up when it doesn’t become that big break that you imagined. All the little wins will propel you closer to your goals, open new doors, lead you to the next connection and you’ll make amazing career memories that you didn’t even have on your list.

Trust the process, chase your dreams, savor every win because those play a big part of where your career does lead you.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a photographer originally from Canada, been in Los Angeles since 2016. Surprisingly, I didn’t take photography seriously until I moved to LA, and didn’t pursue it professionally until 2021. With a background in music and acting, I really thought I’d be that typical transplant coming to LA to fulfill that career.

I started photographing abandoned places and on top of skyscraper rooftops, a style called Urban Exploration. That helped me build up my portfolio. I still wanted a foot in the entertainment industry but could never catch that “big break” in such a competitive city. It wasn’t until I started interning at the Rose Bowl Stadium, where I had the opportunity to photograph huge music festivals, concerts and sports games. I expanded my portfolio more and found a beautiful way to merge my passion of live entertainment and photography together to deliver incredible moments of storytelling.

The journey has definitely not been easy but it makes all the happy moments even more enjoyable knowing how hard I fought to be here, especially in moments and rooms where I never thought I would even be. The city I grew up in didn’t foster the arts as much as LA does, I would be lucky if I even got to see an artist I liked playing a concert. Now here I am photographing iconic moments for some of the biggest venues in LA- the Rose Bowl Stadium, Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater, L.A. LIVE, working with publications and artists directly, which has lead me to shoot my childhood favorite artists like Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne, Sum 41 to the biggest names in music like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Coldplay and icons like Alanis Morissette and Christina Aguilera. I’m most excited for what comes next, just when I tell myself this has to be it, life finds a way to one up itself and suddenly I’m on the red carpet and photographing the GRAMMYs Trophy Room. I mean, it’s hard to one up from that but life keeps surprising me. I can’t wait to see what’s in store next,

A lesson I’ve learned along the way and something my best friend told me is, “Always surround yourself with people who are better than you.” This way you’re always inspired to do better, be curious, ask questions and continue to grow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh this is such a good question because if you could see all my saved places on my Google Map, you would go cross-eyed. It’s funny you ask this as well because I’ve come to realize if you really want to know the good spots to a city, you ask a photographer. Of course we’ll know hidden gems, angles you’ve never seen of the city and the best ways to experience the place.

We’re gonna pretend like money doesn’t matter on this trip, okay? First we got to see whole city from above because who wants to sit in LA traffic? We’ll hop on a sunset helicopter ride with Anthelion Helicopters (we can take the doors off, whee!) and see the whole county from the edge of Long Beach, flying into Downtown LA, while detouring to fly right in front of the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Park, Dodgers Stadium, the Hollywood Bowl and to the coast of Santa Monica where you’ll see the pier lit up at night.

Continuing with heights and sunsets (I actually hate heights but I love the view), drinks and food at some of the tallest dining spaces in LA with breathtaking city views, 71Above at the US Bank Tower and Spire 73 at the InterContinental. I’ll let you guess how many stories up you are with the names. The Castaway in Burbank, sitting a little above on a mountain and enjoying great food with a view out to the city.

If you’re into cars, enjoying a racetrack moment at Porsche Experience Center in the South Bay where you can hop into a Porsche 911 GT3RS and race around their track and then enjoy a meal on the second floor overlooking the track.

Of course, you can’t forget to take a drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to enjoy the views of the beach, cliffs and ocean for miles. Then wrap it up with some amazing Cuban baked goods from Porto’s Bakery and Cafe.

Did I just take you on a date instead?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s going to sound cheesy but I give a lot of thanks to my friends and music. Friends because they are my chosen family. As a photographer in the entertainment industry, my schedule changes every week and sometimes I’m working months on end and won’t see my friends for 3 to 5 months. Even though we may not see each other often, their support and love is so unconditional. I’m never shamed into how much I’m working and they understand if I can’t make to to something.

Music has always been such a powerful driving force for me. I didn’t grow up in the greatest support system, so I would turn to music a lot. I loved listening to my (angsty) Pop-Punk music, writing music but most of all getting to know the personality of the artists behind the music and what they stood for and the positive energy and advice they would give. Thankfully the artists I followed had good morals and warm hearts, in a way I felt like I was raised by music and it continues to hold such a big place in my heart.

Website: https://www.tjmimages.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thatjessmess/