about the artist
First, you can call me Jenn. Or Jennifer. I'll even answer to J. Alice.
I'm an artsy nerd who combines the creativity of a dancer and the analytical skills of an engineer to create visual deliciousness for my clients. I began photographing corporate events over ten years ago, later branching out to dance and portraits.
I love what I do and I bring that energy to photo sessions. I'll do my best to make your photo shoot enjoyable - even if you don't love being in front of the camera.
why i'm a portrait photographer
I’ve had a complicated history with photographs. I’m the youngest of two and while there are TONS of pictures of my older brother – there are only a handful of me. Then there’s an unfortunate collection of pictures from elementary school where I was pulled out of gym class to sit for my pictures. Mid-gym class photos are not cute. Ever. When I was about 10, we had a family portrait taken and it hung in our dining room for at least 8 years; I can still vividly recall the details of that picture. By the time I was in high school, I was a cheerleader and avid dancer who did lots of picture-worthy things. Sadly, the only evidence of my fabulousity was a 5” x 2” strip of proofs from cheer camp, which I lost somewhere in my 30s.
So I photograph kids and families because documenting the different stages of your kids’ lives matter. Because images of joy and love and family affirm who we are and who we came from. Because even though there are no split leaps or straddle jumps in my future, they hold a place in my memories. I wish I had a picture of those memories too.
why i'm a dance photographer
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved dance. My first sleepy bag featured Snoopy with this saying "To dance is to live, to live is to dance." When I was younger, I trained in Horton, Dunham, Graham, African, jazz, and ballet. I seriously considered going to college to major in dance, but took a more conservative road and graduated from MIT with a mechanical engineering degree. Currently, I’m a competitive Latin dancer in Salsa and Bachata.
I worked as an engineer (didn’t love it) and decided to get an MBA in marketing, strategy and arts administration as a bridge to managing a dance company. In the early 2000’s I had the pleasure of being the Administrative Director for one of Chicago’s premiere professional dance companies - Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. At a later job, I stumbled into event photography, realized I love being behind the camera and combined these two passions into dance photography.