This is a weekly series where we feature our incredibly talented Adolescent members and their work! Sign up here to join the Adolescent Membership and be part of the @ family!

Hi, Adolescent! We’re stoked to introduce you to Jamie Boyd—a queer, Black photographer based in LA who specializes in portraiture and fashion. Her goal is to highlight warmth, colors, shapes, and emotion. For this week’s Member Crush, we talked to Jamie about being from Indianapolis, learning from YouTube, and the benefits of being in creative collectives.

Adolescent Content: Tell us a little bit about yourself! Where are you from? How old are you? How are you spending your time these days?

Jamie Boyd: I’m 23 and from Indianapolis. I think I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve created a healthy balance of creating and resting/recharging. Some days, that looks like spending time in nature, other days it’s making mood boards and figuring out ways to bring my ideas to life. I’ve picked up new hobbies like painting and finding vegan recipes. It’s been amazing to have so much time to pour into myself and find new ways to take care of my mental health.

Adolescent: How has 2020 changed your work and style?

Jamie: I’ve had to find new ways to formulate connections. Social media plays a huge role and makes it easy to connect with others. Strangely, the current status of the world has helped me to be more confident in my ideas, because I have more time to perfect them. Also, a huge shoutout to YouTube—I’ve had a lot of time to get better technically with editing and lighting.

Adolescent: Can you tell me about your shooting process, from coming up with a concept to editing?

Jamie: Colors constantly inspire me. I have so many creative friends, so sometimes I’ll hit them up like, “Hey, I have this crazy idea, and I see you as the model” and they’re always down to help. I edit based on how the colors appear in my vision. As long as I remain open, I honestly don’t think I can run into any creative blockages. Inspiration is everywhere!

Adolescent: How does being in LA affect your work?

Jamie: There’s definitely a huge difference from my hometown. People here express themselves so freely and are usually open to collaborate on ideas. People literally move here to have more creative freedom, so there’s always a creative community around me.  I’m actually a part of a collective called Q-Unit. We’re a collective of six queer, Black creative directors. Constantly being around people who motivate me to trust my ideas and help make them even stronger [is amazing]. I’m extremely grateful to have found them. 

Adolescent: What’s it been like being an Adolescent Member?

Jamie: I love being an Adolescent Member. It’s amazing being a part of a community with so many like-minded people. Also, I love that it provides so many opportunities. I love looking at the Adolescent page to see what projects other people in the community are working on.