Meet Adrienne Jeanne, Professional Photographer

Melrose native Adrienne Jeanne has been building her photography business in recent months from a studio in the Carriage House building near Lake Quannapowitt and Church Street.

Jeanne, a Wakefield resident and 2004 Melrose High School graduate, graduated from Suffolk University with a major in interior design, and she also has a BFA with a minor in fine arts from the New England School of Art and Design. She recalled starting off as an interior design student with more of an eye on making a living, but her instincts as an artist never faded.

"I was doing photography in high school, everyone said you'll never make any money," she said in a recent conversation with Wakefield Patch about her business, Adrienne Jeanne Photography. "The business, I never meant for it to happen. My plan was in interior design. But this just took off."

Jeanne sold her first photo in 2009 and has steadily built her brand with photography that ranges from Christmas cards, weddings and babies' 1st birthday "cake smashes" to New England scenery and landmark photography - one example being the image of the Boston Custom House tower included with this article. "We're known for newborns and cake smashes," said Jeanne. 

Even in her portrait photography, Jeanne has a strong New England influence reflected in some of her favorite props - traditional imagery that includes baskets, native fruits and more. Jeanne will also work on location to photograph clients in a place that is special to them - spots that so far have ranged from Malden Catholic to a local Chinese restaurant. By getting a little bit of a back story from her clients, Jeanne notes that she gets to know them better and is more likely to attract their long-term business. "We make really good friends in the business," she said. 

The Wakefield photographer reports that she's hired three interns for her growing business. Along with traditional portraits, more and more items are available to photo customers - with one popular recent trend being "accordion albums" that new parents are especially partial to, reports Jeanne. 

Another steady presence at Jeanne's business is her beloved dog, Tobin, who is featured in the studio's Christmas cards and other images. In fact, Jeanne reports that she is in the "very drawing board" stages of creating a nonprofit called "Tobin's Troops" that would offer free portrait shoots to active duty military personnel from the area, such as of their newborn children for example, and which would seek donations to cover shipping costs to places around the world like Afghanistan. Along with that, she has also been looking at the idea of a children's book project that would include photos of Tobin. 

For more information about Adrienne Jeanne Photography, visit her website or her studio's Facebook page.