Rising Stars: Meet Jenai Gallien

Hi Jenai, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My first time ever doing a shoot was June 2017. A photographer messaged me and asked me to shoot. At first, I was very nervous because I was so insecure with myself at the time, I was not that confident being in front of the camera. I ended up doing it and after that day, I’ve shot ever since and I fell in love. I started to build up confidence and learn my facial expressions and my body language. People started to notice me and it’s been history since.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. There were times where I still felt insecure with myself, times where I wasn’t patient, and times where I started to get big-headed and it brought me down to where I first started off. I felt like I would never get to where I am today but I had to learn to love and accept who I am and trust that God will move things for me. I am still not all the way there but I am close and I’m grateful for everyone who helped me get here. Another thing is I’ve always done work for free when I started off because I wanted to get my name out there but now it’s so hard to get people to pay you for your time and work. A lot of photographers, not all, do not take models seriously and they do not think paying a model is necessary. I absolutely love to shoot, but at the same time, I would love to make this out of a career. Not just do this for a hobby. I am currently in an agency now so if someone sends me a request to shoot, I send them to my agent that way, they can handle the payments.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an editorial, fashion and brand ambassador model. I love to do creative shoots. Creative shoots are definitely my passion. I’m starting to get into fashion because I want to be able to model for clothing brands and I love it. I am also a brand ambassador for a few hairs, clothes, and skincare lines and I love doing that but my all-time favorite is editorial/creative. Most of my shoots I came up with because I can easily put together a shoot.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I have learned is that having self-confidence in yourself is key. You will not be able to do this if you can’t get in front of the camera and show out to the fullest.

Pricing:

• Photoshoot: $100/hr

Contact Info:

• Email: Jenaigallien12@gmail.com
• Instagram: @_jenai_gallien_
• Twitter: @Jhontellll
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NaturalNai

Image Credits
Juwan James Laiken Joy Trebreh baaheth Eric Williams Dominique Andre