My name is Jacques-Jean, but most people call me JJ.

Photography is my way of celebrating the world around me, which I think you’ll agree is a pretty amazing place. Philadelphia has been my home since 1997, and I’ve been freelancing full time since 2003. Before that, I grew up in Washington, DC, where I spent entirely too much of my time at Politics and Prose bookstore/coffeehouse.

I mostly shoot pictures of people, doing things, in places. That’s not very specific, and that’s how I like it. The variety of situations that photography allows me to experience is one of the big draws for me…†

There are a lot of niches that you can get pegged in in photography- are you a photojournalist, fine art photographer, headshot photographer, event photographer, nature photographer, activist photographer, fashion photographer, corporate photographer, wedding photographer, architectural photographer, medical photographer, studio photographer,†dance photographer? While it might be simpler to pigeonhole myself in one of these ways of working, I’d rather just try to be a “good” photographer.

I generally prefer to take photographs for people, not just of them. Images that celebrate the worthwhile pursuits of their subjects are the ones that I find the most rewarding. †I’m also quite enjoy photographing people who think that they are “not photogenic” – because of course it always proves to be completely untrue. Which isn’t to say that I won’t photograph models- it’s just that I’d rather photograph a model who’s invested in the subject matter than someone who’s only been hired for the day but isn’t invested in the subject matter.†

I tend to work in more of a ‘documentary mode’, reacting spontaneously to my subjects, and so I work best either with creative graphic designers whose design will work with the images, or with artists and who will create a scene for me to respond to.†

Currently, I’m continuing to juggle a few things. It’s tricky finding a balance between extensive travel and quality time at home. The commercial career needs to be balanced with the personal and pro-bono work. The photography itself, while fairly all-encompassing, needs to be balanced with other life pursuits. Teaching what little I already know to others has to be balanced with making time to keep learning new things.

As I move forward, the goals stay the same: to continue exploring the world with my camera, while balancing all of those variables, and sharing my images with you here.