{"id":137248,"date":"2026-01-30T04:51:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/137248\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T04:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T04:51:42","slug":"meet-jesi-cason-st-petersburg-month-of-photographys-photo-laureate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/137248\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Jesi Cason, St. Petersburg Month of Photography\u2019s Photo Laureate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AJesi Cason at Dave Decker Photography in Ybor City, Florida on Jan. 12, 2026. Credit: Dave Decker \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n

Jesi Cason <\/a>emerged from personal branding photography to act as St. Petersburg Month of Photography\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fully did not expect to win, because I am more of a commercial photographer than an artistic photographer,\u201d Cason told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

In her everyday working life, Cason works with small business owners, entrepreneurs and influencers. In her words, \u201cpeople who are standouts in their field in some way, who need visuals to help them tell their story.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the decade she\u2019s been doing this, Cason has photographed Grammy award-winning musicians, Olympic athletes, realtors and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love working with people who are deeply connected to their community\u2014that\u2019s primarily my favorite people to work with,\u201d says Cason.<\/p>\n

\"AJesi Cason\u2019s 2022 portrait \u2018Riot\u2019 Credit: Jesi Cason<\/p>\n

This January, Cason is photographing individuals connected with Tampa\u2019s alt scene for her May 2026 show at the . She put this call out from her Instagram profile in early December:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019re 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\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response was fantastic,\u201d Cason told CL. \u201cI\u2019ve had over 100 people say they would like to be photographed for this series.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s free for FMoPA members.<\/p>\n

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This article appears in Jan. 29 \u2013 Feb. 04<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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