MY STORY
Hi there! My name is Jess. And I am a documentary family photographer from Bath, Somerset. And to put it simply, I adore photographing people. Babies, children, adults, elderly people, you name it, whoever you are, I want to take your picture.
I live with my wonderful husband and my two beautiful boys. And of course we mustn’t forget our feisty cat Agatha, who is a little forgotten now since the children arrived (sorry Ags!).
I have a BA(Hons) in Fine Art from Edinburgh College of Art. During my degree I spent 6 months on an exchange programme at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence USA, where I studied Painting, Art History and Documentary Photography. My short time living in America was really where my love of photography was born and has continued to grow and develop over the last 12 years.
After I graduated I worked in the art world for a number of years at a contemporary auction house and then onto a modern and contemporary private gallery. It was during my time at this gallery that I was asked to curate their first photography show. The exhibition was called ‘With A Conscious Eye’ involving three different documentary photographers. It was this exhibition and working with these photographers that really confirmed for me that documentary photography was a genre that inspired me the most and one I wanted to explore more.
WHY I CHOOSE DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
After I became a Mum I didn't realise I would find so much inspiration in all the smaller life moments with my child; the ordinary, day to day stuff. And only a few months into my new motherhood journey I had this urge to document our real life, in all its gritty, raw, struggling beauty. Every day, ordinary, mundane life. So that one day I can look back and know exactly what our life was like at that moment of our lives. Not us posing in a studio or with a scenic back drop, wearing beautiful outfits with freshly washed hair. No enhancements to try and make our lives look ‘better’ or our family to look ‘picture perfect’. A real snapshot of a real family living their actual life.
I wanted us on our sofa lounging around as we do so often. I wanted images of us making our breakfast in our pyjamas and the mess of thrown scrambled eggs on the floor courtesy of our two boys. I wanted images of the daily furore of getting them dressed and wrangling a tooth brush in my 4 year olds mouth for a few seconds. I wanted images of the exhausting mission to get out the door in the morning. I wanted our real expressions of boredom, frustration, upset and sadness. But also of genuine joy, hilarity, laughter, huge bear hugs, love, and contentment. And kisses, so many kisses for our boys.
My approach is a mixture of documentary and fine art portraiture to create a series of beautiful images that tell the story of your family. I promise you will feel at ease in my company and there will be zero awkward posing. There is so much beauty in normal life. Lets create some art together.
(Photo’s by the beautiful and overwhelmingly talented Alice Chapman Photography)
Jess Cheetham is an award-winning professional documentary family and portrait photographer. She is a Mum to two boys and lives and works near Bath, Somerset. She has won a number of awards from the Family Photojournalist Association, This Is Reportage Family and the Documentary Family Awards. She has been an exhibiting artist in the Documentary Family Photographers Gallery exhibition ‘Transforming Perspectives’ and 'Family (Un)Expected' in Arles France. Most recently has had her work published in the New York Times and the Sunday Times and continues to work on her own personal projects and commissions.