Get to know
Janelle
Hey there! I’m Janelle, a Wedding and Portrait photographer based in Chicago, IL. My life journey just kept putting photography in my path. I have always loved taking pictures. I still have an entire drawer full of photos I took in middle & high school. I went on to study a minor in photography at Howard University. Then just a couple years after I graduated I found myself hired as a Lifetouch picture day photographer. From there I started photographing peoples love stories and growing families. I fell in love with capturing joyful moments and helping create family legacies.
Photography has been my full-time career for over 10 years, but I also wear the hats of a military wife and stay-at-home mom to energetic twin toddlers. Military relocations have been a significant part of my life for the past seven years, leading me to restart my business three times in different states. Fortunately a year and a half ago, when my husband got out of the military, and we settled down in my hometown of Chicago. And just recently, I fulfilled one of my dreams of opening my own studio that reflects my photography style – modern, warm, stylish, and colorful – Avenue J Photography Studio. While it's primarily for my own clients, it's also available for other photographers and creatives to rent.
Capturing beautiful memories for amazing clients fills me with so much joy! I’m truly amazed that this is my job!
My Why
The biggest reason behind everything I do in life always leads back to God. I love photography! It is one of my biggest passions in life. But if it weren’t for God giving me this gift, opportunity, and ability or the fact that I get to use it to serve and bless other people, I would probably be doing something else.
My second reason is my family. My husband and miracle twin babies, Harper & Isaiah. Being able to have a career that I love that is flexible enough to allow me to show up for my family is so important to me. And I could not be more grateful that Photography has awarded me that opportunity.
I hope that my passion for photography and my God is Gracious Blog will inspire someone else to find purpose in their own life by following God and exploring their own talents, dreams, & vision. If God did it for me he can do it for you too!
