Chat with Photographer Ja’Dee Murphy

What is fashion without photography? D Unknown invites you on a trip within the heart and soul of photographer, Ja’Dee Murphy.

“A picture is worth 1,000 words” – do you believe this to be true? “Yes, but it is like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You can look at a picture and interpret or visualize it differently from everyone else”.

Why is photography important to you? “Photography captures time and space, the moments; within seconds a piece of art is created, it can be as personal as capturing an intimate feeling. Photography allows us to reminisce and create self-visions of past and future”. Ja’Dee managed models for some time; at times he found it quite difficult to have a photographer capture what he was visioning. However, what influenced him goes way back to his childhood days. As a child he loved looking through magazines, be it fashion, entertainment or about animals. He was infatuated. His family could not afford to buy him a camera, so he drew what he saw in magazines. It wasn’t until over a year ago that he started taking pictures with a camera, inspired by a young Australian photographer and make-up artist by the name of Nicola Studiovski.

How has your upbringing prepare you for working in the fashion industry? “I stepped out of my mother’s womb as though I was walking down the runway. I have been drawing from the age of five; fashion was in my blood. I’ve done fashion illustration, designing, modeling, acting, singing and dancing. I did it all.”

Would society be different if photography was never invented? “Yes. Society would be different. What would you be wearing, eating, buying if it was not for photography? The only thing that is changing is the technology”.

In your opinion, what makes photography art? “Like a painter uses his brush to manipulate shapes and colors to create art, a photographer manipulates light to create a masterpiece”. What does ‘Controlled Chaos’ mean to you as a photographer? “I am somewhat a control freak and I don’t do well with chaos at all”. Concerning his ‘next big step’, Ja’Dee talked to D Unknown about feeling as though being in a bathtub. “It’s limited, but puts me in an ocean. I want to travel more and shoot high fashion and one day create my own photography book”.

We are more than convinced that Ja’Dee Murphy will excel. His work is impressive. In one word: ART!