I have had the honor of being photographed by Jen several times in my life and her images reveal who I was then, who I am now.
"It is quite remarkable to have Jen see the essence of self and capture it : truth and time in a capsule."
- ellen zenson
Jen helped us capture moments that would have otherwise been a blur: learning how to nurse and become a mom, a dad and a big brother for the first time.
- Darcie Pelsor Alexander
The morning was a bit chaotic, but never once did I feel like I needed to apologize to Jen for the chaos - she gets it. She feeds off of families being real ... My looks of "Gah! This is so much to deal with!" were met with looks of, "I know! I've been there too!". And when I see her taking a photo of a moment I would have missed, I'm so grateful for her perspective.
"I just want to say: it means everything in the world to welcome someone into your home who gives you space to be your true selves."
- ravyn stadick
My experience with Jen was really special for our family. We had just lost our twin daughters after giving birth to them prematurely. All I had left of them was a small box of hopes and dreams and trinkets from their short stay on this earth. I wanted them so badly to be there and Jen was able to capture their presence in our photos.
"It was the saddest most beautiful moment for me and that is what translates in her photographs. An honest look at what was happening in our life at that moment and that's what I wanted to remember."
- bree walk
We all sat on our bed and went through the girls box and shared it with Jen. Not just the smiles but what we were all feeling at that time in our lives. We still to this day, years later look through those photographs and cry, smile and laugh. I can't thank her enough for those memories she captured for us.
I will never forget what it felt like to fall in love with my wife because of these photos. Fifty years from now our grandkids will be able to look at these images and know exactly who we were, and how big our love was.
"The thing that makes these photos special though is the way that Jen is able to see the very best parts of us. She sees the things that make us love each other, the flaws that make us beautiful and she shows them back to us through her images."
- nick north
Jen consistently captures the personalities of my children in her pictures better than any other photographer I've worked with. I don't know how she does it.
- Kris Wallsmith
When I learned I was pregnant at 40 and on a solo mission of parenthood, I was excited but worried that there would be no one around to capture the most beautiful, intimate moments of my pregnancy and my daughter's first year. Somehow the Universe blessed me by bringing Jen into my life.
"Working with Jen has not just resulted in a progression of photos that tell the story of my journey into motherhood, it has allowed me to believe, once again , in my own beauty and the beauty of the world around me."
- Sydney Daly
Jen first photographed us a decade ago - I was pregnant and we wanted to capture the moment. Since then, we've worked with Jen to create an archive of the time since our daughter was born - it is a deliciously wonderful chronicle that only Jen could have created.
"She captures beauty, deeply, in every view. Jen, I don’t know how you do it, but your work never ceases to fill up some new space."
- Ellen McCormick
Over the time I've known Jen, she continues to hone her incredible design eye in way that astonishes and moves me - she has matured her portraiture style into a profound act of witnessing her subjects. Her vision is highly empathetic, loving, honest and classic.
Based on how she described her approach, and my own interactions with her, I knew that she knew the grittiness of life -- the joys and the struggles, the beauty in imperfectly candid moments. I knew she valued capturing what is real, so I simply relaxed into the realness of our situation that day and let whatever come, come.
"It felt safe to be vulnerable with Jen. I had no self-consciousness, no need to smile just right or present myself a certain way for her photos."
- Holly Osment
