Jen was born in Edmonton but spent much of her childhood and adolescence in motion. Her family lived in Kuwait and later Oman, and she eventually spent time living independently in Ecuador. The constant shifting of countries, cultures, and communities did more than feed her appetite for adventure—it taught her to read people quickly and deeply. That sensitivity would become the foundation of her photography long before she ever considered pursuing it professionally.

Her earliest memory of the medium is a simple one: a film camera her mother gifted her as a child. The thrill wasn’t the shutter click—it was the wait. The delayed reward of developing a roll of film, never knowing exactly what she would get, embedded a sense of discovery that still fuels her work today.

Yet photography was not her original path. Jen earned a Bachelor of Science in Evolutionary Biology, followed by a diploma in radio broadcasting. She was drawn to the way each field explored its own kind of storytelling: biology through the long arc of life’s patterns, radio through voice, tone, and human connection. But in the background, she kept picking up her camera. She photographed friends whenever she could, learning how to make people feel comfortable and how to find truth in small gestures.

The turning point came when a friend asked if she had ever considered second shooting a wedding. She hadn’t. But she said yes.

Jen’s introduction to the wedding world was made possible by photographer Jen Ostopovich, who she credits as her most influential mentor. During a two-year apprenticeship, she learned everything—technical skills, posing, workflow, business structure, and the rhythm of a wedding day. Those early experiences remain some of her most formative.

Her first weddings on her own were small events for friends and family. She remembers making mistakes, learning quickly, and spending far too long in post-production. She also remembers the adrenaline: being fully “on” for hours, the high stakes, the trust. Her very first official booking came from friends in her dance community. She charged five hundred dollars, worked for four hours, and delivered a gallery she still feels proud of—despite the painstaking process of editing a hair elastic off the bride’s wrist in nearly every photo.

Those early clients led to more, mostly through word-of-mouth across her close-knit Edmonton community. Her time working in radio also connected her to musicians and artists who helped broaden her creative language and push the boundaries of her style.

Today, JRush Photography specializes in weddings across Alberta and British Columbia, with Jen shooting an average of 5–10 weddings per season. She gravitates toward full-day coverage, preferring the narrative arc it provides, but also offers smaller packages for couples who need something more flexible.

Jen describes her work as cinematic documentary with a touch of editorial flair. Her style is defined more by how she shoots than how she edits—angles, movement, direction, staging, and the degree of guidance she provides shift from couple to couple. She adapts quickly to the energy of a day. Some clients need posing support; others simply need space. To Jen, the job is not about adhering to a predetermined process but about staying alert to the story unfolding naturally around her.

When it comes to tools and equipment, she is refreshingly grounded: the gear matters far less than the intent. “You could do it with a phone,” she often says. And she means it.

Jen’s clients tend to be easygoing, joyful couples who are deeply in love and want their photography to reflect that feeling. Her reputation—especially within the Edmonton creative community—is built on two things: her energy and her presence. Clients consistently tell her that she brings an upbeat, encouraging tone to their day, keeping spirits high and the experience fun.

This interpersonal strength is a direct extension of her upbringing. Years of moving between countries taught her how to connect quickly, observe carefully, and blend into spaces without disrupting them. Those instincts make her a natural documentarian, able to find meaning in fleeting expressions and tiny details.

For Jen, wedding photography is not simply a profession. It is a privilege layered with responsibility. Being trusted to document such a defining moment in people’s lives means everything to her. Love, in all its complexity and possibility, is what keeps her returning to the work—even at times when the job demands more than seems possible.

She is inspired by light and movement, by the creativity of artists around the world, and by the endless variety of human relationships. Even in the most exhausting weeks, such as early October—when peak season meets peak editing—she finds fuel in the moodiness and colour of autumn and the promise of the images she knows she can create.

Jen is both introverted and extroverted, able to turn her social energy on when the moment requires and retreat when she needs to recover. This duality helps her balance the extreme contrasts of the job: the all-day high-engagement intensity of shooting and the isolating stillness of long editing stretches.

But the emotional demands of the job extend beyond exhaustion. This year, Jen lost her father and had three weddings scheduled during the week he passed. She showed up for all of them. Not because it was easy—she says those were some of the hardest days of her life—but because her clients were counting on her. Editing afterward became a form of quiet recovery, a space to process while still honouring her commitments.

The flip side is equally challenging: extended periods with no human interaction can feel equally unbalanced. Jen navigates both extremes with honesty and self-awareness, recognizing that wedding photography asks for sacrifice—and she chooses that sacrifice because she loves the work.

Jen’s goals for the future are rooted in expansion. She wants more travel, more stories, more variety, and the freedom to take her work full-time. The ocean and mountains continue to call to her, and she intends to follow.

What sets her apart is not a single technique or stylistic choice. It is the combination of curiosity, resilience, global perspective, and deep empathy. Jen documents weddings with an eye trained not only by art, but by life lived across borders and cultures.

Every time she lifts her camera, she is searching for the same thing she discovered as a child developing film in a lab: the thrill of seeing something real, unexpected, and human come to life.

Website: jrushphotography.com
Instagram: @jrush.photos