Jenn Ackerman received a bachelor’s degree in social research from James Madison University, studied photography at the Danish School of Journalism and received a master’s degree in visual communications from Ohio University.
Jenn takes a documentary approach to her work, getting as close as she can to her subjects. She likes to work in intimate settings and bring viewers into situations and stories that rarely are told. Her focus has been on subcultures in the United States that are often misunderstood and overlooked including mental illness in prison, HIV in rural America, and families living in Appalachia. Her photography is raw, intimate and emotional which requires honesty and trust from the people she photographs. In the April 2012 issue of PDN, David Walker wrote, “her intention is to peel back the veneer, revealing unguarded emotions, irony and incongruity without betraying her subjects.”
In 2012, she was named to PDN’s 30 and in 2009 to Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50. Her work has been recognized by the Inge Morath Award, Review Santa Fe/CENTER, Magnum Expression Award, the Honickman First Book Prize, Communication Arts Photography Annual and others. One of her projects, Trapped, was named Non-Traditional Photojournalism Publishing Project of the Year and the project’s short film won an Emmy.