We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brianna Rohlehr. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brianna below.
Brianna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
My journey in visual arts really began when my father gave me my first digital camera at the age of 17, right around the time when I was a senior in high school. At that time, I didn’t necessarily identify as an artist actually. I was into some artsy things here and there, but it wasn’t until I really started working with the camera that I realized that I actually really liked taking photos. I started off by taking really cool selfies (and would get all dressed up in my room, haha) and then it somehow transformed into my doing some street and nature photography, and then I eventually began to start covering events.
Later down the line when I got to college, I was still very much into photography but it wasn’t something I considered pursuing full time. It really was just a hobby! Then, in my sophomore year was when everything changed. In 2014, after I had gotten my first internship with a television studio (that was conveniently located on my college’s campus) was when I decided that I wanted to take my visual arts journey seriously and pursue it as a career. From my first couple of days in the studio (well, actually from my first steps inside the studio), with all of the lights, buttons, colors and cameras and the crew – it was as if all of the things I had been studying artistically prior to coming to college were coming together – all in one great big place. And since then, I’ve been in the field, consistently pursuing this artistic journey and have not looked back or regretted a single decision I’ve made.
Brianna, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Well, hello there! My name is Brianna Rohlehr and I am a NY based multimedia creative that focuses on photography, videography and media education. I got my official start in the industry in the year 2014 after landing my first media internship in The Bronx, NY while in college. I remember I originally wanted to be a journalism major since I had discovered I liked to express myself through writing, but as I dove deeper into the Journalism major, and after dealing with certain professors – I realized I didn’t want to pursue it professionally – I really just liked to write without feeling confined or told how to do so, lol.
Once I came to that realization, I began to think back on my experiences as a photographer prior to coming into college and decided that maybe my love for visual arts should be something that I explore as a profession. And kid you not, within a couple of months, I began interning at Bronxnet Community Television and completely fell in love with the lights, buttons, video cameras, and all of the crew that was working there. To see the technical and artistic side of visual arts come together in one place was something that was out of this world for me. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on every single piece of equipment so I could fully understand exactly what was going on behind the scenes. During my time at Bronxnet, I held a variety of studio production positions including camera operator, technical director/director, and floor manager. I even got the chance to spend time out in the field as a camera operator and would edit the footage I shot to create 1-2 minute pieces for the network. Later down the line I became a senior intern which lead to my becoming the senior floor manager (which basically meant that I was the person who was in charge of the entire studio, from handling/training the other college interns and also organizing crews for the live and taped studio shows). And even further down the line, once I graduated from college, I became the official Studio Coordinator as well as the Youth Media Internship Coordinator where I truly discovered my love for youth development, media education, management and coordinating.
Since 2014, I’ve worked on a variety of independent visual projects including music videos, short films, documentaries and other short form content and I’ve freelanced for a variety of networks and organizations including BET, CNN, The Apollo, The American Medical Association, Mt. Sinai Health System, and The Grio.
But as of right now in 2023, I spend most of my time working in various communities all over NYC! Though I’ve fortunately been able to be in some corporate spaces in my visual journey, literally nothing brings me more joy than to be able to work with folks who look just like me. This for sure has definitely been one of the key aspects in all of the work that I do and I’m always proud to be able to use my visual talents to create for the greater good of the communities that have done so much for me. Most days you can find me providing photo, video production and consulting services to Black, Brown and WOC-owned small businesses and I also work heavily with non-profits, helping to fulfill all of their marketing and advertising needs through both photo and video work. In addition to working in the field and stemming from my Youth Coordinator days at Bronxnet, I also work as a media educator, teaching both inner city youth and adults intro courses to both photography and videography.
As I get further along in this visual journey, I hope to continue to work more and more with the community, essentially creating and building partnerships all over NYC. And overall – I’m just here to do what I do best – to create authentic, wholesome and thoughtful content for those that are looking to take the next steps in their visual journey as well.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
For me, the most rewarding aspect about being an artist is that I get to use my God-given visionary abilities to help others solve their creative problems. Whether it be someone needing visual coverage for an event, assistance with putting a visual project together or just needing general advice on something – none of this feels like “work” to me. These types of things are literally all things that I do day in and day out and I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of helping folks when they’re in need. So when my day is done and I’ve completed all my projects and have helped everyone that I could, the peace that I feel is literally unmatched and that is always the best feeling.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
One major thing that I feel like non-creatives struggle to understand about my journey is my decision to stay as an independent/freelancer. I’ve had multiple people throughout various points in my life tell me that they couldn’t understand why I didn’t just get a regular 9-5 job so that I wouldn’t have to go through so much, especially financially. And to be quite honest, there have been many times where I have been offered full time work but I always ended up turning those gigs down. For me, as someone who is extremely creative and very free spirited, I always felt that if I were to get a 9-5 job, that I would be bogged down with too much responsibility and not enough time for myself and the things that I really want to focus on. Funny enough, I’ve actually never had a full time job! I mostly have had gigs or jobs where I actually was a freelancer or part-time but had a Monday-Friday schedule. At these gigs, I always made it through and did what I had to do but eventually I would always reach a point where I felt like I couldn’t commit in that capacity anymore.
I at this moment, and most likely for the next couple of years, thoroughly enjoy being able to be in different spaces every day, working with a multitude of different folks of all ages and I also really really enjoy being able to set my own schedule, travel when I want to, and have the ability to create my own kind of peace. Now – don’t get me wrong – there is absolutely nothing wrong with the creative who has a 9-5 and works on their own creative projects on the side because I know quite a few! I believe that someone who does have a 9-5 and who freelances on the side – you are still finding ways to give back to not only your creative community but also to your creative self. I just know personally, for me, I really appreciate the freedom that the freelance life gives me. So all in all, I would say that that has been the biggest thing that most non-creative folks don’t really understand about my journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: briannarohlehr.com
- Instagram: @the_visual_butterfleye
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannanrohlehr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnKYo-CanwDtdIToOoaMndQ
Image Credits
Sophia Williams