SD: How long have you been a photographer?
Taylor: Unofficially for eight years, and officially for four years since September.
I studied music in college and I am a full time musician for a wedding band. Music pays the bills, so with photography it’s more of an outlet and I can pick and choose what I want to do with it– It stays a little more sacred for that reason.
SD: Are you from Charleston?
Taylor: I am from a small town north of Atlanta called “Rome.”
SD: How did you get into photography?
Taylor: In high school, my parents surprised me for Christmas with a Nikon camera. I just started shooting my friends and landscapes. I took a break and saved up for a camera. They gave me my first camera and that was the beginning point for me.
SD: How would you describe your style?
Taylor: Moody, conceptual, editorial, and narrative.
SD: Does your style have any reflection on where you are based culturally and demographically?
Taylor: No, not at all. I try to be the exact opposite of the style that surrounds me. I love LA and New York, and European fashion. Music has really influenced my style as well. What I listen to translates to what I get inspired by. I get inspired by other places and cultures, and I bring it to my local community.
SD: What’s your favorite thing to shoot?
Taylor: I would say editorial. I love the fashion aspect involved in it, as well as meeting new people. I love hearing different stories from the models. A lot of my post-production is how they inspired me and how I interpret them.
We absolutely love Taylor’s work and believe she does an amazing job through post-production storytelling. One of the most important things in the arts is to create pieces that move and tell stories.
SD: How would you describe yourself?
Taylor: Minimal and eclectic.
SD: How did you begin to shoot for these big brands? What got the ball rolling with that?
Taylor: The process has been an interesting time. Social media is a beautiful tool for brands to see you. I have been contacted by certain brands literally just by hashtags or word of mouth. I have also reached out to brands asking to work with them, and explaining that I would love to add it to my portfolio. You don’t have to have some special criteria to meet and contact people. I emailed designers at New York Fashion and told them who I was and showed them my work! It isn’t a super complicated process, you just need to try it! I have had plenty of “no’s,” but you just have to keep persevering.
SD: How has art influenced you?
Taylor: Art for me, impacts my life every single day. I see it and I use it, and It has changed my life. Art has always impacted me.
SD: Is there ever a fear of the ‘not knowing’ and never having consistency?
Taylor: Absolutely, I always try to think ahead and have a plan and goal in mind. I am currently unrepresented, I do not have an agency. I would love to be a part of an agency or magazine that I could work with. There is always the fear of the unknown. I would love to do this forever, but you never know!
SD: What has been your biggest struggle as an artist?
Taylor: The location I am at really limits me. Being in Charleston is great, but I often have to travel a lot to make money and shoot unique things. I have learned to know that work comes and goes. Sometimes I am super busy and it’s great, and then I don’t have work for a week– but that is something I have grown to learn and expect.
SD: What motivates and inspires you?
Taylor: A lot of outfits in art, a couple of artists especially inspire me. Music and people’s stories inspire me. One big artist, Tim Walker, has always inspired me. His shoots are super abstract and bizarre which I love.
SD: Dogs or cats?
Taylor: Dogs!
SD: What advice would you give to an upcoming artist?
Taylor: Hone in on your style, don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone, and keep pushing yourself with an open mind.
Artist: Taylor Jarvis
Models: Amy Roiland Chris Motley Treshawn Ford Janelle Starrett Karen Briggs Updyke Deion Smith Jessica Phoebe Christy Soeder trippitrvccicompany Caroline Harris