#TetherStudioStories: Studio 215 is a Space for Creatives Who Want to Build On Their Skills and Knowledge

#TetherStudioStories are an insider look at the spaces where creativity happens.

Studio 215 is a fun space where creatives can learn, experiment, build their portfolios, and work on their projects.

Jasmine Lawrence is the founder of Studio 215. She started with fashion, sharing her looks in YouTube videos, and taking an interest in fashion photography. “I picked up the camera, and never put it down. As I started shooting stuff I was like, let me try to perfect some of these images.”

Lawrence continued her photography education under Marcus Ezell in Atlanta, and she’s now in Cincinnati, working off the network and resources she finds here. “I realized Cincinnati was up and coming and a lot of the arts are really big here.”

Studio 215 was opened a year ago. Within Studio 215 is Color Pop Studio, Jasmine’s personal studio where she does workshops and shoots for other people. With Studio 215, Jasmine provides a space where creatives can shoot, build their portfolios and, of course, have fun.

The studio is actually an old gymnasium that was part of an old Walnut Hills Elementary School, now turned apartments.

A stage in the gymnasium, now serving as Jasmine's bedroom.

The studio can be rented half-day, full-day, or hourly. The rates are listed on the website, or you can contact Jasmine directly to negotiate (talk budget, if you know what I’m sayin).

“I teach [at New View modeling agency] like once or twice a week. And then they send their models here for testing. I’m actually hosting a class here to teach people, not so much how to behave, but what to expect in the studio. Learning about the small things that a lot of models don’t know. What a color check is, knowing where your key light is, stuff like that.”

“After [New View], I started getting into portfolio building. So now I’m in the process of building models’ portfolios.”

“I consume everything photography...I live in my [studio] space so I’m here at night. There’s no 5 o’clock, we’re closed, like we’re open all the time, so it gives me the opportunity to constantly test, and I even test on myself.”

Jasmine's living room and lounging space.

For her photography, Jasmine finds inspiration in history. “Everything comes from history,” she says. “You get the rawness of what people looked like. The way [they] stood, the way that they moved, the dancing. That’s another big part of me. I used to dance for the Cleveland Cavaliers, so dance was my life. To come from dancing to another art form was a good transition for me. I think that art form allowed me to see things in a different way.”

“Studio 215 is an event space or creative space for any type of creators to come and enjoy themselves and be creative,” Jasmine says. The place is perfect for more smaller, personal events and workshops.

“One of the projects we’re working on now is building portfolios for other creatives. So they’ll be able to come here for a week straight and do different composition or makeup styles, and I would shoot that for them so that they leave here with a portfolio.”