YOUARETHEWILDONES: PHOTOGRAPHER JENNIE WARREN: BEYOND THE LENS

Originally from Long Beach, California, Jennie warren is an on-demand photographer, with a decade of experience shooting some of the most fascinating people and places Los Angeles has to offer.

She moved to L.A. in 2001, since then she has become an asset to the Angelino arts and culture community. Her versatility with the camera is evident but she excels in capturing ordinary moments and lacquering them with mysterious elegance. Warren can document life while pushing the limits of her imagination, giving creativity a new meaning and bringing it out through the medium of photography.

The following is an intimate look into the person behind the pictures.

Do you have any pseudo names? Jdub

Best of L.A.? I love that I can drive a few hours north to shoot in the mountains or an hour south and go to the beach. There's so much to explore in and around LA. I love little road trips and the culture and diversity.

Claim to fame? That's silly. I'm just a shy girl at heart and learned how to express myself by taking photos. I try to capture something special and maybe reveal something unknown about a person when photographing them. I've been told I have a gift for making people feel comfortable and am more comfortable shooting real people than models. I actually don’t know what to do with models, its sort of funny. I love little quirks that people have, hand gestures, ironic situations and using color.

L.A. is a extremely diverse, where do you fit in? I relate with the music and art scene. I grew up in Long Beach and in high school started going to shows, playing in bands, hanging out with musicians and artists. I was very inspired by the people I was around and started taking photos. My first 'real' Band shoot circa 1998 was of my friends in a synth-punk band called Le Shok. They were assholes but fun to hangout with. I shot B&W 3200 film in their practice studio and still like the shots. Everything was so exciting and I think that time definitely formed who I am today.

Do you have a dream project, and how will you make it a reality? My dream would be to shoot a creative and funny Ad campaign for someone like BBDO. I also would love to get a photojournalistic assignment that would have me traveling and shooting.

What led you to photography? I think I've always had an eye for composition. As a child, I was very particular about the way things looked and liked to place items so they were visually pleasing. In high school I took my first photo class. I started shooting with a Canon AE-1 program and feel in love. I shot some still life but mostly people and my closest friends became my muses. Luckily I had really interesting friends that were into art, music and mayhem. After high school I went to Long Beach Community College and got into the photo department there and spent my evenings in the darkroom. I couldn't get enough, I was obsessed. At the same time, I was working at a photo lab and got to process and print customers images as well, so I was engulfed in photography. From there I attended Art Center College of Design and graduated in 2005 with my BFA and have been working freelance ever since.

What projects are you currently working on? I'm currently shooting a personal project on a counter-culture group that involves me traveling around the states, following them. My goal is to make a book and possible film about it. I will be making a kickstarter page soon to start the funding so I can finish the project.

Music: The Beatles.

Photographers: Guy Bourdin, Phillip Lorcia DiCorcia, Autumm de Wilde, Aaron Ruell, list goes on...