We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jarrod Oram a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jarrod, appreciate you joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Where I am at today is not what I originally planned…and thank goodness. Left to my own magnifying mind I would have short changed myself immensely. But just about every success I have had has been the result of taking an idea and putting action to it.

In Rick Rubin’s book The Creative Act: A Way of Being, he talks about how ideas come to us:

“If you have an idea you’re excited about and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come.”

I started my career in the film production business and continued through television and into advertising, where I was always fascinated with visual storytelling. Living in New York City, Denver and Las Vegas, I always carried a camera to document my everyday life. In 2013, I moved back to Dallas and began to leave the house with his camera, with no idea what I would shoot. Point my car in one direction and see what I could find.

During this time, people began to inquire about purchasing some of my photographs and I began to map in my brain dreamlike scenarios of clients…but it was only a thought.

And then I sold my first pieces to an interior designer for a couple of restaurants. I then thought that I could do photography on the side to make money to travel.

In March 2020, I moved back to Las Vegas to launch a brand (great timing). When the world shut down, the American Southwest became my canvas as I would drive hundreds of miles each weekend shooting the loneliness, beauty and expanse of silent desert towns, national parks, the abandoned Las Vegas Strip and countless sunsets. I was a Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours master class honing and growing my aesthetic.

Moving back to Dallas later that year, I was invited to be in an art show at a showroom/gallery. They wanted everything to be 30” x 40 “ and larger, as they said my images were meant to be lived in.

My therapist highly encouraged me to put prices on my pieces that made me very uncomfortable.

I did. I submitted 6 pieces…and 3 sold…to complete strangers!

From there I realized that I would rather sell large pieces, rather than try and sell a bunch of small pieces at a weekend art show.

Still, I thought this would be a sweet side gig…but during this time I would create specific target audiences, values that aligned with me and build the foundation of what a photography business would look like.

I left my C-suite job in Sept 2021, figuring I would consult and sell a few images a month. Interior designers started reaching out requesting pieces. A showroom in Dallas invited me to be a vendor. The universe kept guiding and providing one direction, but the fear of leaning fully into was still a lot.

Another show, another 4 pieces sold.

I began to sell…a lot. I was showing up as myself and people were feeling the work through the joy I shared in it.

And after staring at another email content strategy for a healthcare company, I was done. My career had veered into what it had become…and it wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

So in Sept. 2022, I said goodbye to my last marketing client and launched full time into building and scaling a fine art photography business.

After 2 decades of mirroring other entities, I now had full agency in building something that fully aligned with me…from clients to vendors to strategy. Joy, collaboration, curiosity, purpose and unlimited greatness would be the drivers moving forward.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Jarrod Oram is a Dallas-based fine art photographer known for his large-scale, immersive photography. His work is characterized by a unique perspective that finds beauty in the forgotten and familiar, emphasizing the grace within imperfections and flaws, as well as allowing viewers to form an emotional connection to places they’ve never experienced, as well as the familiar but in an unexpected and unknown light.

Jarrod’s approach to photography is spontaneous and intuitive; he often sets out without a specific destination in mind, capturing moments as they naturally unfold before him​.

My photography is about the journey. There’s no art direction, shot sheet, no destination goal. I jump in my ride and turn corners, waiting to see something interesting in real-time. I wait for it. And I wait for it. Whether it’s a truck moving out of the frame, light hitting just right, or a shadow slinking into its ideal spot, I give the subject attention, space, and beauty. For me, it’s meditative: spending hours observing the story, colors, shadows, and soul evolving within the frame. I keep things simple, using my heart, eye, and a never-ending supply of Hot Tamales candy and Leica to capture the moment.

For individuals seeking statement pieces to punctuate personal spaces, designers needing large-scale stylistic themed collections for residential or commercial interiors, or gallerists sourcing high-end collectibles for a client, my work captivates curious and playful imaginations, needs, lifestyles, and preferences.

My photographs, printed large-scale, offer an immersive experience, inviting you into each frame. I produce every print in-house, utilizing archival-grade pigmented ink on premium archival photo paper. From the vibrant glow of neon signs at night to abandoned theaters in West Texas or the golden hour at Venice Beach Skate Park, each image captivates the viewer with its transformative presence, adding a layer of photographic abstraction that mesmerizes.

You’ve Been Everywhere But Here.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I realized that what I shot and how I presented it in rather large format wasn’t being done a whole lot in my area.

Finding and building partnerships with reputable showrooms who sold on my behalf (not in the traditional gallery representation side).

Actually reaching out and building relationships with clients…not just sending messages and what I do. Setting times to have coffee, come to their homes, businesses and listen to what they need.

When discussing my work, exuding the joy I have in creating with the person interested in it

Underpromising and overdelivering.

Knowing my numbers within my business.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

finding strategic alliances where my work is seen over and over again, by the right set of eye balls (currently working with a coffee shop business in dallas as well as a hotel in Ft. Worth)

Checking in and following up

patience (I’m not selling something that is an essential)

always being available to how I can solve a problem (What’s in it for them)

targeting clients that make for ideal repeat business

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jarrodoram.com/
• Instagram: @jarrodoram
• Other: Online Store:

  https://jarrodoram.artstorefronts.com/

Image Credits

Photo of April Littman and me pointing up to black and white piece on mantle – Sarah Linden