Jade Beall knew she wanted to be a photographer when she was 10 years old. Growing up in Yelapa, Mèxico was inspiration enough, but when visitors traveling from the US to stay with Jade and her family would bring gifts of old, beat up copies of the photo-rich National Geographic Magazine, she fell in love. The images told innumerable and profound stories. Exotic village stories, amazing Sahara desert nomad stories, stories of women living in huts – like Jade did – but with skin the color of dark chocolate, and stories of places where elephants lived free and where it snowed on buildings that resembled fairy tale castles.
Jade began studying photography in 1996 while in high school in Tucson, Arizona. She has been refining her style ever since, finding inspiring photographers to learn from and work with. Jade’s most recent project involves photographing women in different stages of their life – as children, as young dancers, as pregnant mothers, as sisters and daughters, as teachers and as students, and as housewives and grandmothers. Jade’s pictures reflect the inner beauty of the women she shoots and she works with tremendous dedication and commitment to creating a glorious photograph that both she and the subject will cherish forever.