Jawbreaker decided to sit down with 18-year-old Vincenza Jacquest (@cenzaphotography) . Vincenza is a photographer based in England. Her photographer style seems to be dreamy and conceptual.

Jawbreaker: Lets start with the basics, who are you and where are you from?

Vincenza: My name is Vincenza Jacquest and I am an 18 year old aspiring professional photographer from Northamptonshire, England. I’ve been self taught for around 6 years but have started receiving offers from universities for my future studies in photography!

JM: What are some of your hobbies outside of photography?

V: Aside from photography I write and record my own music. It’s something very personal to me and though I’m proud of it, I’m not ready for the world to see, not just yet. As generic as it sounds I also love spending time with new people and experiencing things, I love to keep busy. I think the world offers so much to learn and I want to always take that opportunity.

JM: Do you have an artistic process you follow?

V: My artistic process is something I take very seriously. It usually starts with of course, coming up with the initial concept. In order to do this, I gather a lot of inspiration from other online creators and also a good old Pinterest board! I’m quite the thrift store/charity shop fanatic, so once I’ve decided my concept I’ll go searching for pieces to dress my models in. Styling is extremely important in my work and it’s something I usually have full control other. I’ll do a model search or message friends that I think would suit the concept and then it is on to a location search! Since I’m a student I’m usually working on a low budget so even finding local locations is useful as long as the concept in strong. I’ll also often do the models makeup to bring out certain colours as well. I think making your model comfortable on shoot in very important and engaging with them is extremely key. After the shoot I’ll do my usual post production editing and then off to Instagram the images go.

JM: If you can remember, whats the earliest memory you have of photography?

V: My earliest memory of photography is probably when I was around 7/8! I got my first digital camera for Christmas and I was beyond excited to try it out. I remember parading around my house taking photos of my twin sister, going outside and documenting the seasons. My favourite memory using the camera was probably taking it to a residential trip with school. I remember being so happy taking photos of my friends, capturing them smiling. I still have those photos today, somewhere on a distant Hard drive.

JM: What got you into photography? Was there any one who inspired you - films, another photographer, books, music even?

V: I think what got me into photography was a mixture between my love for art and film. I’ve always been a complete 80s fanatic, all the movies and all the music. Honestly photography has been my way of feeling closer to the era, a way of pretending a could have lived through it, as silly as it may sound. Instagram definitely played into as well, I’ve always loved supporting other creators and it’s crazy how I’ve gone from fangirl to in real life friend to some of them!

JM: Are there any influences that inspire you today?

V: There are so so many influencers that inspire me day in, day out. It’s super hard to choose but my personal favourites are @petracollins @francesweger and @snapsbybea they are all super super talented ladies!

JM: What are some of your favorite things right now? Anything at all.

V: I’m the most indecisive human ever but I do have some all time favourites! Music wise it’s anything from the 80s, bands like the talking heads, Duran Duran and the cure will be my forever favourites! Fashion wise I’m really loving thrift stores in generals at the moment. It’s actually becoming quite the obsession. I love that you can just give clothes a new lease of life and the prices are amazing, there’s something better then budget finds!

JM: You seem to like conceptual photography, and often show this through series. What’s one of your favorite topics to tackle.

V: Conceptual photography is super important to me and formatting them as series’ really helps. The themes I consistently play into are femininity and youth. I think there’s something so beautiful about capturing divine raw femininity and reclaiming the imposes stereotypes and making them your own is so so empowering to me and to my models. I have future projects that I hope to delve more deeply into these themes and even touch on some more taboo topics. Photography is how I express many of my personal issues and it’s honestly like a source of therapy.

JM: Your love for portraiture is definitely apparent, and rightfully so! You capture people so beautifully it’s insane! Is there any other subject matter that you like to capture that you don’t show off often?

V: Thank you! Portraiture is a super strong love of mine. The only concept I don’t really show is my film photography work. Again, it’s something I’m still not ready for the world to me. Film photography has always been touch and go for my but it definitely plays into my love for all things vintage and retro. Over the next year I really want to refine my skills in this and even try some experimentation is cinematography but for now portraiture is my primary love.

JM: Do you often take pictures of people close to you?

V: I take photos of those close to me all the time! Most of my shoots are of my close friends, even my twin sister. I’m so lucky to have friends that accept and respect my work, honestly it sometimes makes me emotional sometimes. In the beginning it was super hard to be taken seriously but now I’ve had mostly a super positive situation. In the photography community it’s so easy to get manipulated by people and cheated out of money and shoots etc, trust me I’ve had my fair share of troublesome clients. But contrastingly, it’s allowed me to meet so so many new amazing people, from all walks of life, not only helping to grow my confidence but helping me to grow as a person from the influence of others. I love and respect my friends and models so so much and I’m over joyed that they have been with me on this journey.

JM: Have you ever done a shoot with someone you weren’t close to and come out of the shoot feeling closer to them?

V: I think I may have sort of already answered this, but i definitely have! I’m a pretty introverted person but photography has helped me grow my confidence so so much. On a shoot I tend to do a lot of talking and I ask a whole load of questions, sometimes even spending the first half an hour simply talking to the model has changed the whole direction of the shoot! I want to create something personal to them as well. It’s been a means of making new and stronger friendships and I’m super glad I can make the wonderful people around me feel beautiful.

JM: People can sometimes be a tricky subject to shoot. Taking photos of someone can make both you and the person you’re shooting vulnerable. Is there any way you make people feel more comfortable

V: Communication is truly key! As photographer, we probably can be just an nervous as the model but it’s so important to really engage in conversation, ask if they have any limitations to the shoot and explain your personal direction and concept so there is no surprises. Even explaining the process can put a model at absolute ease; most of the time the model will also reciprocate and ask you questions and you must always be 100% ok with answering them. Even putting on some music to create a better atmosphere can definitely help. But overall, just having an amiable and understanding nature is truly key.eel more comfortable in front of the camera?

JM: Finally, can you make us a 5 song playlist?

V: Of course! Here are some of my all time favourites:

This Must Be The Place by The Talking Heads
Love My Way by The Psychedelic Furs
Jane by Roy Blair
Small Car Big Wheel by Enjoy
Girls on Film by Duran Duran

Find Vincenza on instagram @cenzaphotography

Women In Photography: Vincenza Jacquest