From Third-World Countries, to Some of the Most Luxurious Homes in L.A.
Enjoy the truly awe-inspiring career path of design photographer Jean Randazzo.
Jean Randazzo is the youngest of four girls born and raised around farms, tractors and rodeos in Liberty, Texas.
With the guidance of her mother, who made them travel to Houston each weekend to get out of rural America, Jean grew up appreciating both small-town and big-city life.
“You have to grow up knowing how to ride an escalator,” she says. “It’s clear to me how this influenced my years to come. I had a deep bond and understanding of small-town America, but also a great appreciation and sense of ease in the city.”
It wasn’t until her first trip to New York City that Jean fell in love with photography. She was greatly influenced by Henri Cartier-Bresson and his idea of the photograph being the “decisive moment.”
“A photograph is a real moment in time,” Jean says, “not just a result on canvas from someone’s imagination, but an actual frozen moment in time.”
Soon after this trip, Jean began mentorships with W. Eugene Smith, Robert Capa and Sebastiao Salgado — in addition to Bresson — all of whom were documentarians of the battlefield and the human experience.
Her dream was to follow in their footsteps by becoming a photojournalist who documented real life in the toughest arenas.
Jean spent several years in Asia and Europe working as a fashion model, which afforded her the opportunity to travel and capture the type of images she admired from her mentors. She was able to pursue her wanderlust as an aspiring photojournalist, purchased her first Nikon, and took it on all of her adventures throughout Asia, Europe and Africa.
In Tokyo, Jean shot images of Harajuku dancers, and ventured to the outer prefectures to shoot the small villages and local shops. In Hong Kong and Macau, the street life fascinated her. She dared to witness the “real” kickboxing that happens in Bangkok, surrounded by shouting men gambling in an arena full of cigar smoke.
Jean also braved the ride to a Cambodian refugee camp on the border of Thailand, where all of her gear was confiscated by armed military. In Africa, she focused on the locals in Zimbabwe and Lake Kariba, while staying in a safari camp.
In Europe, she gravitated toward the people who lived in the small villages and suburbs of Germany, Holland and Norway.
The project that stood out most to Jean was her trip to the Maldives before anyone knew the islands existed, with a stop over in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the time, she traveled heavy, with two large suitcases stuffed with clothes, shoes and makeup.
As she exited a taxi to check in to the hotel in Colombo, a dozen children crowded around her. They wanted to touch her hair, clothes and jewelry, and inspect her shiny train case. As she opened it to show them the insides, their eyes grew wide with interest and excitement. Jean ended up giving them everything inside and watched them skip away happily.
“That moment will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says. “Although I had nothing left except a lipstick or two in my handbag, honestly, I didn’t need it.”
Her transition into design photography was coincidental. After her foreign adventures had come to an end in the early 80s, she ended up in Los Angeles. The terrain didn’t have a story she wanted to tell with her photojournalistic view.
“The several years I spent abroad, being in some of the grittiest streets of third-world countries, eventually landed me in some of the most luxurious and beautiful homes and gardens in the country,” she says.
Jean returned to the States and had a career in television for five years, before taking a couple of years off to have her two children. When her daughter turned one, she decided to return to work for the notable design firm Stamps and Stamps, a husband-and-wife design and architect team that renovated her home. They had done such beautiful projects that weren’t photographed, so Jean started working on their portfolio.
“My work started getting attention, and the world-renowned photographer, Tim Street-Porter recommended me for my first paying gig,” she says. “The rest is pretty much history.”
Jean is driven by her clients’ satisfaction when they see the final delivered images. Her clients put a lot of time and effort into their projects, sometimes taking years to complete, and when they see their talents and efforts come to life through her photography, they are awed.
“I get so much pleasure from bringing their projects to life for the world to see,” she says. “I equate that to being all dressed up with somewhere to go!”
Jean is inspired by talent, beauty, elegance, refinement and thinking outside of the box. She loves being bold with color and waiting for an ordinary moment to become extraordinary.
“As far as beauty, refinement, and elegance go, it doesn’t have to be a palatial estate or grand residence,” she says. “It could be a simple artist’s studio or a quiet corner of a small sitting room. Looking for these moments and opportunities always inspires me.”
To her, the best part of being a design photographer is the exposure to the historical periods, styles and decoration, and the lack of rules in design. She loves the experience of being surprised by the designer’s vision, and how closely involved she gets when photographing a private home, as well as documenting collections at her discretion.
Jean recently completed a project for a book that will be out in October 2017 called Dogs and Their Designers with author Susanna Salk and publisher Rizzoli. Her future goals include publishing another book, chronicling her early work as an aspiring photojournalist, and her transition into the design field.
“I have so many beautiful images that represent the work of the countries’ top designers, and I know it would make a gorgeous book,” she says. “It would also give me great pleasure to credit all of the talented people I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the years.”
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