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Young, Gifted And Annoyed - part 2 of 1 2 3

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Lara, who last year won a 'public choice' award from the AOP, attacked the necessary steep photo-learning curve with vigour and determination.

She started working with small clients, learning about shooting styles and business acumen in tandem with an obsessive desire to produce new, exciting work.

And she is the youngest photographer ever to shoot at London's famous Spring Studios.

"I'd photograph my clients using my own original themes and styles, to satisfy my creative hunger, while offering the models an alternative to the humdrum headshots being offered around at the time." She says.

A move to London followed. More clients and more ideas - often inspired by the works of Tim Walker, Ellen Von Unworth and Mary Ellen Mark.

But Lara Jade has a dark side too.

"All through college I was uploading my work to a website called DeviantArt.com. It's all 'dark art' and it's the kind of work I'm really interested in." she points out.

"Even while I was running my business and establishing myself in the industry I was still uploading to Deviant Art."

Six years after joining the site, Lara now has over 11 million portfolio views from that website alone.

"It's fantastic simply because so many people in similar industries get access to my work and we can all share ideas and give each other advice," she enthuses.

"That's the excellent thing about my generation - there is a massive opportunity to showcase your business and your work through social media."

Lara currently has a fan page on Facebook with almost eleven thousand supporters. Plus an impressive Twitter following of over five thousand, and a Flikr account with similar numbers.

She says: "It's such a great way to get your name out there, and make contacts. Whether they're fellow photographers or new clients. There is a definite upside to being young in this industry."

She continues: "I'm still only twenty, so I have plenty of time to develop my career. It also means I'm often perceived as 'up-and-coming', even though I have been photographing professionally for five years now."

Lara tends to use top agencies Storm and IMG Premier for sourcing models. She also uses a creative team to produce most of her shoots, rather than a team of assistants. Any heavy lifting and carrying of kit is completely down to her.

So, how does she cope with equipment on a daily basis?"I use an old Canon 5D at the moment. Although, I should be upgrading to the MKII very soon."

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• Young, Gifted And Annoyed page 3
  

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