Jain Waldrip
Jain is a Houston, Texas-based photographer specializing in creative portraits, headshots, and street photography. She started shooting at 14 with a manual Pentax K-1000, and is passionate about surrealism, dance, and fire photography.
My Background
I got my first camera sometime in the mid-90s. I wish I could remember exactly when. It was a 35mm Pentax K-1000, all manual. It somehow survived my experimental teenage years and I still have it today.
I took it around the art center with me for my first real photo project as a tween, took it on vacation to indulge my love of nature, and eventually retired it in favor of my dad’s old Canon TX. I set photography aside for a little while after high school, then picked it up again as an adult, relearning all the basics in the new digital world.
The second time around, I was hooked. I started devouring photography materials, relearning composition, and taking any class I possibly could through my local photography store. It really took off from there! I started booking shoots with my friends, trying experimental portraits in my in-home studio, and learning all the ways I could manipulate light.
My Style
My first love was nature, and I love pulling natural-looking elements into my portrait work, from natural light to floral elements to stone and crystal.
I personally love dark vignettes, and am inspired by paintings like Rembrandt’s Man with the Golden Helmet for the sense of mystery the dark scene and intense detail of the subject evoke in me. I also love fashion portraits and album cover art, both dark and light, because they break rules and portray surreal people and situations. I am happiest with the dark color palettes of the Baroque period, the soft greens and natural floral hues of Rococo art, the ornamental framing of Art Nouveau portraits, and the sunlight and surrealism in 1980s and 1990s photography and painting.