Meet Valerie —
Hey there :)
I’m glad you managed to stumble into my little corner of the internet.
This website is a collection of the work I’ve created over the last eleven years as a professional photographer — from when I was cutting my teeth running around Racine trying to be a photojournalist, all the way to this past summer's editorial cover shoot. I love what I do because I get to be creative. I get to call the thing I've been doing since I begged my parents for a little point-and-shoot camera when I was seven my career, my passion, my art, and my way of leaving a mark on the world.
Getting to call myself a professional artist always felt like such a far-fetched dream, yet somehow I've managed to spend most of my adult life doing exactly that. I owe all of it to the people who have trusted me with their stories. Every client who's invited me into their wedding day, their business, their publication, their event, or their passion project has given me the opportunity to grow, challenge myself, refine my craft, and live a life centered around creating art. Through every high and every low, I've realized that what I love most about photography has always been the people who make it meaningful.
As a proud transgender photographer, creating an inclusive and affirming experience is deeply important to me. I welcome and celebrate every person who steps in front of my camera, but there will always be a special place in my heart for photographing members of the LGBTQ+ community. Getting to create with people who have navigated many of the same joys, challenges, and experiences that I have is something I'll never take for granted. Every time I have the opportunity to document another queer person, couple, or family, it feels like my way of giving back to a community that has helped shape who I am. I hope the photographs we create together become more than beautiful images—I hope they become reminders that you deserve to be seen, celebrated, and remembered exactly as you are.
Outside of photography, you'll usually find me exploring Madison, Milwaukee or Chicago with my partner Sabrina, searching for a new favorite restaurant, catching live music, cooking, gardening, dancing, or playing competitive softball.
I hope you've enjoyed spending a little time getting to know me and exploring the work I've shared here. If something you've seen or read resonates with you, I'd love to hear your story too. Whether you're celebrating a wedding, building a business, creating something meaningful, or simply wanting to preserve a moment in your life, it would be an honor to tell that story through my art.
I can't wait to hear from you
~ V