We had the good fortune of connecting with Jenna Lambertz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jenna, why did you pursue a creative career?
The traditional office 9 to 5 was never where I fit in. I worked the desk job designing hundreds of tract homes to fit within the design standards. No windows and no face-to-face connections to the clients I was designing for. This left me empty and unfulfilled creatively and artistically. Without growth as an artist my drive to design beautiful things was getting less and less. Because of this I wanted to make sure to follow my aspiration to do something that I love and that has an impact.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The traditional timeline after high school would be to attend college for a degree to transition into adulthood. This is great for some people and just makes sense, so I followed suit and attended Iowa State University. Iowa State has an accredited College of Design that extremely successful artists and creatives graduate from and acquire those dream jobs. I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in Landscape Architecture. The 5 year program was amazing and allowed me to travel the country and world for school immersing myself into different demographics.

At Iowa State they offered equipment rentals free of cost. This allowed me to dabble in the different equipment for photography and get hands-on learning with my photography course. The College of Design is somewhat of its own world, a space where you can be your authentic self. Installations were all over the building year round and if you could visually see creativity as a tangible thing, it would be intertwined and weaving throughout the space. No idea was too small or too large to bring to life.

Post-graduation I felt that to make the big money and make it in my field you needed to work at a renowned firm. After working for Landscape Architecture firms, it dawned on me that this is not it. I am too much of a people person that thrives off human connection and building the relationships to design specific for my clients. I worked for a small family-owned business managing the store and doing residential design. This allowed me to generate the revenue to support my family but also to eventually afford to switch to photography full-time.

With the courses I took during undergrad and online education from photographers I was able to gain the knowledge of how I can use my camera as a tool to craft my art. Taking on a lot of unideal sessions that give me creative joy, which is okay! Building a clientele and expanding my portfolio to showcase my versatility. Just as any other job, you have to work your way up the ladder.

Photography was always a passion and love of capturing moments that are able to be relived through the photos. As cliche as it sounds I have always loved taking photos and wanted to elevate that to art. How can I beautifully bring a memory to life? I specialize in lifestyle photography, this can be interpreted and defined in many different ways. To me lifestyle is more of story telling and less posed portraits. I try to read a session in terms of how are they authentically, whether it is an individual self-love session, family, maternity or boudoir. Understanding and observing the relationships to one another without making people feel uncomfortable. Being able to watch a person bloom throughout a session and walk away with more confidence that they didn’t believe they would ever have – is what reminds me daily that I am exactly where I am suppose to be. Hearing the impact that a session can make on someone’s life and the tears that their photos bring.

The biggest lesson I have learned is to not give into imposter syndrome as a photographer. To not lose sleep over comparing yourself to other photographers based on their social media presence, aesthetic or even successes. Everyone is on their own timeline and to never stray away from my authentic self. I am not for everyone and my art is not for everyone, THAT IS OKAY. The people that love working with you or what you can creative will support you through it all. Being authentic will allow the relationships with other photographers that have the same values and approaches as myself. Those are the people that will ignite the creative fire and help build an empire.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The town I am located in is small town, approximately an hour to two hours from any bigger town or city. There are great hidden gems to eat at depending on your palate. My college town is an hour away and is expanding quickly with a variety options as well. I love creative photoshoots and enjoy finding spots in my town that photographed, look like they were done in a city or a beautiful park. The midwest has the 4 seasons and they each bloom beautifully. Fall colors are vibrant and the textures of the the rolling hills, trees and wildflowers make for great settings. Winter is beautiful for the purity and glow of the snow. Spring is soft and pops of bright colors, it changes a persons mood and brings joy to photographers. (Getting back outdoors!) Summer is full of lake and pool days, spending hours outside and extended our opportunity to shoot longer outdoors. Bonfires and camping are all ways of spending time with your friends and family but make for great candid lifestyle content.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family have always been supportive of whatever creative venture I decide to take. When I spoke about my passions and goals to them they always listened with open ears. Presenting to them my Powerpoint style presentation with everything thoroughly calculated and thought through. They never once doubted the ability of bringing my visions to fruition. No dream was too big and no career was unattainable.

My parents have always instilled hard-work into my life, whether it was with relationships, work or personal goals. Life is not easy and great things do not come easy. My son is also my biggest support, he is always hyping me up in the cool things I get to create. He tags along for a lot of my sessions and has even developed a creative eye of his own. Suggesting posing ideas or photoshoot ideas. I absolutely lean into this allow him to speak his mind and opinion, letting his be hands-on when appropriate and praising his out-of-the box ideas.

Website: www.lambertzphotographydesign.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lambertzphotographydesign

Facebook: www.facebook.com/lambertzphotographydesign

Other: www.tiktok.com/lambertzphotographydesign https://linktr.ee/LambertzPhotographyDesign

Image Credits
Lambertz Photography & Design LLC

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.