Words by Hannah Tapping
Escaping through the lens of photographer Jade Berry whose fashion portraits capture fleeting fashion moments that transcend the conventional.
As a child, Jade was fascinated by photography and cinematography, inspired by her grandad who documented family life and holidays through his lens. With a little snap camera her constant companion from the age of 12, Jade and her friends would dress up and hold impromptu fashion shows and shoots. Enrolling on a photography course at Truro College, it was never Jade’s intention to pursue photography as a career. Her plans were to travel, but thanks to a lecturer who had identified that Jade had a unique gift she was persuaded to stay and study.
“At that time,” says Jade, “I was shooting everything on 35mm or medium format film. I would spend every day in the darkroom learning how to print and develop. I thought the process was magical, being able to go out and shoot something, develop the film and then hold a print in my hand. I was a little obsessed with it, but I think that it was down to my obsession that I actually became quite good at it!” Persuaded by her tutors to set up an Instagram account, it wasn’t long before Jade was noticed and started to be approached by brands: “It was a little insane, I never thought I would become a fashion photographer, it happened really organically.”
Left: Jade Berry
Middle left: Swan lake - MODE magazine
Middle right: We are the free - French Fries magazine
Right: Electric ladyland - Lucy's magazine Jade is a visual storyteller with each shoot telling a tale. Every image contains some of that magic she discovered in the dark room, giving them an almost fairytale quality. In the hiatus of her career, Jade’s work was attracting a lot of interest from major fashion houses. Lecturing in Cornwall during the week she would then commute to London for shoots, before moving to the capital full time. Covid, and a traumatic period for Jade and her family, saw her return to the Duchy: “It was a massive shift, but I knew I needed to move back home. However, during the pandemic I was offered a contract with Foot Locker. The timing wasn’t ideal but we made it work.” As Covid took a back seat and London began to open up, Jade found herself spending more and more time travelling to the capital, styling and organising shoots: “It was intense and eventually I burnt out, losing my love for fashion as it didn’t bring me joy anymore – especially with shooting a lot of editorial with no guaranteed payment, it was certainly hard graft. Now I have found my true passion… food. As with my photography, where I would create the entire concept, I’m enjoying doing this now with food. I like to source incredible ingredients, create new recipes, and really tell a story with my food in order to make people happy. It’s so much better for the soul. I’m currently working on shooting some new recipes and the dream is to produce a recipe book with my own images. I’ll never close the door on fashion photography. I’m just having a little rest for now.”
Left: Milkshake - Dreamingless magazine
Middle left: Abundance of kin - Notis magazine
Middle right: Foot Locker EU campaign
Right: Quiksilver - Surfdome campaign
Left: Overload - Kunst magazine
Middle left: The garden - Flanelle magazine
Middle right: Dissolve - Dreamingless magazine
Right: Deconstructed - Lobster magazine
Left: The bride and groom - Sicky magazine
Middle left: Electric ladyland - Lucy's magazine
Middle right: Lucid - Contributor magazine
Right: Richard Quinn - LFW - Wonderland magazine
Returning to Cornwall, Jade now styles and shoots for local creatives, friends and her own foodie business, Naughty Nonnas, regaining her love for photography at a gentler pace.
Instagram: jadeberry___ Instagram: naughtynonnas