Jessica L Drake · Bothell, Washington

Hi, I’m Jessa.

Photographer, creative producer,
and maker of fantastical realities.

I build worlds for people. Some become photographs. Others need to be built, painted, wired up, or persuaded to fit through a doorway.

I like understanding how things work well enough to do something unexpected with them. This is excellent for making art and less helpful when I’m supposed to be doing one thing at a time.

Photography

A world you can step into

I photograph portraits, fashion, beauty, and editorials, with a particular love for fantasy. I want to know who you want to see yourself realized as. We can work outward from there, choosing the setting, making the pieces we need, and shaping the light around you.

Light is how I think through a photograph. I pay attention to what it does when it hits skin, passes through fabric, or reflects off a surface. Understanding the physics gives me more room to play.

I’m developing a portrait series using the starscape of a meaningful date and place. An engagement, an anniversary, a child’s birth, or a moment that belongs only to you can inform the constellations. We build a fantasy around that moment.

The work behind the work

A few credentials

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography & Digital Imaging from Ringling College of Art and Design, and an Associate of Arts in Communications & Media Studies from Florida State University.

I interned at the Miami Herald and worked on staff at SCENE magazine throughout my time at Ringling. I also worked on staff at VILLE.

My photography includes covers for VILLE and Dope Magazine, along with editorial work for D-List and Dark Beauty. I’ve photographed people including Lenny Kravitz, Dan Marino, Arnold Palmer, Patrick Stewart, and Kirk Douglas, and produced behind-the-scenes video for editorial shoots.

I’ve also worked as a digital artist contracted to Microsoft, creating visual assets for the Train Simulator / Flight Simulator team. At CreativeLIVE, I worked as an off-camera host and chat moderator, helping connect the audience with educators.

More of my working background

As studio manager at Linnea Creative Portraits, I managed photographers and staff and built workflows for processing and delivering images. I’ve also contributed to National Association of Photoshop Professionals conference activities.

I completed my thesis while recovering from an accident and using a wheelchair. That experience shaped my disability advocacy and how I think about access.

I’m developing accessibility assessment work for in-person and online spaces, including hotels. Talk with me about accessibility.

In the Workshop, I build miniature environments and photographic sets, work with 3D printing and laser cutting, and make things with electronics. I used a vintage Polaroid case to build a Linux laptop around a Raspberry Pi, with a HAT expansion board and an NVMe drive. Even computers need custom environments ;)

I now teach people to use AI tools and build software prototypes. I completed Anthropic’s AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations and Claude 101 courses in 2026. My approach to learning is to connect unfamiliar ideas to something I already understand, then make something I can try.

Open the Workshop

Community

Room to make things

I created the concept for Room To Craft in Bothell, bringing a teaching studio, craft supply shop, and café together in one space. I opened the business in 2018 and ran it through 2023. I taught people how to use tools they hadn’t tried before, from Cricut machines to laser cutters and 3D printers. There’s a lot of satisfaction in watching someone go from unsure to making their own decisions.

I produced the Bothell Crow Festival and invited neighboring businesses to showcase their work during the festival.

I serve on the board of the nonprofit SPEAK! Music as Language and volunteer alongside my photography work. I want to keep making time for that, whatever else I’m working on.

Family history

Two of my influences

H. Rodman Smith

My maternal grandfather, Horace Rodman Smith, worked in scientific instrumentation. In our family’s account, his work at Milton Roy involved chemical analysis, chromatography, and precision measurement.

He worked in a field where measuring absorbed light helps explain what a substance is made of. I use light to sculpt the scene. That connection interests me because light is something I can both understand and experiment with. It’s part of what draws me to his work, even though we took it in very different directions.

Fred Orr Drake Jr.

My other grandfather, Fred Orr Drake Jr., served in Leon County government and gave his time to education, hospitals, and civic organizations across Florida. His service included the board of Florida A&M University Hospital. His community work is part of why showing up for other people matters to me.

My own version has taken shape through teaching, community events, nonprofit board service, and volunteering. I want to use what I can make and what I know to be useful to the people around me.

Fred Orr Drake Jr.’s public service

Government and civic leadership

Leon County commissioner, District 2, 1963 to 1967; commission chairman, 1966 to 1967.
President of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, Florida Chamber of Commerce, and Florida Council of 100.

Leon County’s record ↗

Education

FSU Alumni Association president and a member of the FSU Foundation’s initial board, documented in 1960.
Seminole Boosters board member in 1967.
FSU Foundation Board of Trustees chairman, 1993 to 1994.
An organizer of Phi Alpha in 1947, the group that became SAE’s Florida Beta chapter in 1949.

1960 Foundation report ↗ 1967 Boosters roster ↗ Foundation chair roster ↗ Chapter history ↗

Health care

Florida A&M University Hospital board member, listed in the 1962 and 1963 state directories.
Part of the group that helped establish Capital Medical Center in Tallahassee during the 1970s.

1962 directory ↗ 1963 directory ↗ Hospital history (Spanish) ↗

Church and state ceremonies

Trinity United Methodist Church usher in 1965, Administrative Board member listed in 1986, and Finance Committee chairman in 1989.
Parade Housing Committee co-chairman and Ball Committee member for Farris Bryant’s 1961 inauguration.
Executive Committee member for Reubin Askew’s 1971 inauguration.
Finance Committee chairman for Bob Graham’s 1983 inauguration; Fred and Roberta Drake also served on its Executive Committee.

1965 church record ↗ 1986 board roster ↗ 1989 finance report ↗ 1961 inaugural program ↗ 1971 program ↗ 1983 program ↗

These dates come from public records. Some identify service in a particular year rather than a complete term. The inaugural committees were contributions to state ceremonies.