A photography friend once told me that personality is 90% of the job. I scoffed at the thought of it. Are you serious? How could a photojournalism degree and over a decade of professional experience only amount to 10% of my job?

Then it sank in a little. I am, we agreed, a social animal. And that does translate into a reliable ability to make people comfortable around the camera. Which is a huge part of getting the right shot.

When I first started taking pictures at age 7, making people comfortable wasn’t really on the radar. Back then, it was all about photographing dolls against a yellow refrigerator with a Le Clic camera just to prove they belonged to me (and definitely not to either of my sisters).

But by middle school and high school, my repertoire had expanded to class trips—and human subjects. And my pictures were getting printed in school papers. By the time I was in college (studying physical therapy), I was working for the school paper.

At that point, the only thing left to do was switch majors, leave school and become a photojournalism student at Boston University.

Which is to say that Boston is where my career officially began. Within a year of making the move, I was shooting for the Boston Phoenix, and was hired as a full-time staffer in the editorial design department right after graduating.

I shot anything and everything I could for the Phoenix. Bands, events, everything. 6 years later, I (nervously) jumped ship to start a freelance career.

That was 16 years ago. Today, I’m a little older, a little wiser and just as passionate about photography. My clients include universities, record labels, magazines, biotech companies, and ad agencies.

I also volunteer my photo services at Girls Rock Campaign Boston, where I take band photos for all the kids. And I’ve learned that making them comfortable around the camera makes a pretty big difference.

For larger productions, I am represented by Jenn Sargent/Hayroad Productions

see published work here

CLIENTS/PUBLICATIONS

AbleImages

Berklee College of Music

Boston College

Boston University

Broad Institute

Collective Next

Comcast

Compass

CVS

Design New England Magazine

EMI Marketing Firm

Girls Rock Campaign Boston

Harvard University

Jade Yoga

Jumpstart

MassArt

MIT Sloan

Partners HealthCare

Poetry In America

Raytheon

Roadrunner Records

Sadhana Yoga Studio

Sonicbids

Stonehill College

Sub Pop Records

The Boston Group

The Boston Phoenix

The OCD Foundation

The Weekly Dig

Timber Press

UTurn Audio

Wheelock College