Hi friends!

My Story

Most of you might already know me, but my name is Jen El-Haddad. I am a Charleston photographer and the owner of Jennifer Mary Photography. I relaunched my business part-time in March 2021, and went full time in June, after being laid off for the second time in 9 months.

My love for photography started as a child with the need to take photos of EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING! My parents gifted me a sticker Polaroid for Christmas in elementary school, and I felt the need to constantly take photos of everything in sight. Years later, as a Junior in high school, I decided to take Photography I; which was a black & white film class. I learned how to develop my own film and prints, and realized that I had a true passion and love for the art. (I even started to do my high school boyfriend's photography projects because I loved the dark room so much!) While applying for universities, I started to explore Photography programs and ended up choosing Shepherd University; a small D2 school, located in Shepherdstown, WV.

In 2010, I started Jennifer Mary Photography as a class project and it escalated to Senior Portraits, Proms, and Graduations. I continued this as a part-time gig through college, and slowly felt the creativity being sucked from my soul as I entered the corporate world. Somewhere in the hustle and bustle of the corporate world, I applied for a promotion and relocated to sunny Charleston, SC at the end of 2017.

Fast forward to 2020, in the midst of the shutdown and pandemic, I needed my creative outlet again. So I did what I knew best, I picked up my camera and headed down to Folly Beach, SC. In March 2021, I applied for my LLC and business licenses, and made my business official while working as a Marketing and Social Media Coordinator. At the end of May 2021, I was laid off for the second time in 9 months; this was my sign.

I truly believed that God had given me the sign I had been looking for my entire adult life. A sign that I was created to do something more and something that truly fulfilled me! I hit the ground running and started picking up clients full time. In July, I decided to do my first pop-up event with my landscape prints. Since taking my business full-time, I have done 36 markets, 40 sessions, and 6 weddings! I truly cannot express how blessed and grateful I am.

On June 27, I re-devoted my life as a Believer and was baptized in the ocean. I truly believe that I was put on this earth to share my passion and serve others. These last few years have been part of my testimony. The more I have leaned in, the more He has blessed my life.

A Little Bit About Jen...

I’m a curly-headed, Old Bay loving, and caffeine-dependent millennial. My personal style goes from Lilly Pulitzer in the spring/summer to hipster in the fall/winter... There's absolutely NO in between.

When I'm not working and growing my business, I love going down to the beach or walking around downtown with my boyfriend, Ryan. I love to try new food and restaurants (and eat primarily plant-based and gluten-free), and traveling (I've been to 7 countries and 28 states). I'm a HUGE fan of all things Friends and Schitt's Creek, Lilly Pulitzer and lululemon, and celebrating holidays (Halloween is celebrated the entire month of October, and Christmas begins on November 1).