Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jayro Esparza. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jayro, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I’ve had a few passion projects in recent times, but the #1 I would say would have to have been the photoshoot I did for St. Vitus’ WHET campaign. What started off as an baby of an idea in November I was able to execute in May, and it was my first big creative director experience where I not only photographed but also made the photoshoot exactly what I hd envisioned. Plus seeing my photos being used weekly to promote not only a business I love but friends who dj at the club.

Jayro, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hello, My name is Jayro (hi-ro) Esparza and I have been a photographer for 12 going on 13 years now. I started off photographing on my families old Nikon D500, and what started off as a hatred of being in front of the camera turned into a passion of being behind the camera and just photographing beautiful things, or even not so beautiful things in a beautiful way. I was a serious hobbyist for a few years until 2022 when I decided to really ship my life into commercial work, and since then I have worked on some amazing projects and have met some amazing people who continue to inspire me and get me to work even harder.

I would say I am most proud of the fact that I’m completely self taught in what I do. I’ve spent 12 years just architecting my creative eye and my vision of who I am as a photographer, taking inspiration from painters like George Condo, Basquiat, Edward Hopper, and Hasui Kawase.

How did you build your audience on social media?

At the beginning of 2021 I was around 250 followers on a personal IG where I would post stuff casually. As of spring of 2023 I have seen almost a 600% increase. I believe that having an online presence is important but overall meeting people in real life, going to local shows, and overall just supporting where you can has helped so much. I try my best to be as genuine and as supportive as I can to the scene in Tulsa mainly because the city has done so much for me.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think it just lies in the ability to express myself or my ideas in ways that people are accepting of and they themselves gain inspiration. To some it might be just a photo of a sidewalk but to me its a photo of the sidewalk I walked everyday to get to school or work, and even in the highest or lowest moments of my life it was a safe space for me and I am able to share that with someone.        

Contact Info:

• Website: Setjphoto.con
• Instagram: Setjphoto