A studio portrait of a person with long, wavy brown hair featuring blonde highlights and a shaggy fringe. They are wearing a black "TIGERSEX" sleeveless t-shirt, bright red lipstick, and multiple facial piercings, including a septum ring and a lip piercing, all set against a solid grey background.Jesi Cason at Dave Decker Photography in Ybor City, Florida on Jan. 12, 2026. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Jesi Cason emerged from personal branding photography to act as St. Petersburg Month of Photography’s Photo Laureate in May 2025. She applied for the honor after moving from Fort Myers to Tampa, thinking the appointment would be a great opportunity to meet other artists in the area and get her name out there.

“I fully did not expect to win, because I am more of a commercial photographer than an artistic photographer,” Cason told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

In her everyday working life, Cason works with small business owners, entrepreneurs and influencers. In her words, “people who are standouts in their field in some way, who need visuals to help them tell their story.”

In the decade she’s been doing this, Cason has photographed Grammy award-winning musicians, Olympic athletes, realtors and more.

“I love working with people who are deeply connected to their community—that’s primarily my favorite people to work with,” says Cason.

A high-angle, surreal group portrait of seven individuals in elaborate, shimmering costumes posed in a garden under a bright blue sky with a faint rainbow. The figures are engaged in various gardening activities; some hold watering cans or hoses, while others kneel in soil with flowers. The foreground features freshly turned earth and a white classical bust partially buried, with vibrant pink, yellow, and blue flowers scattered throughout the scene.Jesi Cason’s 2022 portrait ‘Riot’ Credit: Jesi Cason

This January, Cason is photographing individuals connected with Tampa’s alt scene for her May 2026 show at the . She put this call out from her Instagram profile in early December:

“I’m looking to create a large-scale portrait series featuring the people of Tampa who are more likely to be throwing elbows at Crowbar than taking a hot girl walk down Bayshore Boulevard. As the St. Petersburg Photo Laureate of 2025, I want to create unconventional portraits of non-traditional people who live all over Tampa Bay for my solo art exhibit planned for May of 2026 at @fmopa. If you’re into the local music scene, the art community, the drag scene, or anyone who exists outside of the mainstream Tampa vibe, I want to create a kickass portrait of you to hang in a museum…”

“The response was fantastic,” Cason told CL. “I’ve had over 100 people say they would like to be photographed for this series.”

The photos will be on display at FMoPA in May 2026. Cason also teaches Photography 101 at FMoPA (next classes are Sunday, Feb. 8, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., and Wed., March 11, 5-7 p.m.) and hosts a monthly photography club. They meet at FMopA every Third Tuesday at 5 p.m. where they share photos and set a new monthly photo challenge. Anyone can attend these monthly meetings, but it’s free for FMoPA members.

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This article appears in Jan. 29 – Feb. 04.

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