Alex Berman, is an artist from NYC. They’ve been drawing since they could hold a crayon! Alex attends the High School of American Studies, and has taken classes at the Art Students League of NY and Cleveland Institute of Art. Their art has been published online and in print, and recognized by Scholastic with a national gold medal. Alex also loves to write, and finds comics a perfect combination of my favorite mediums. Cartoonists Scott McCloud, Lynda Barry, Alison Bechdel, and N.D. Stevenson are constant inspirations, and have changed the way they think about art, language and their intersection. They like experimenting across mediums, but inevitably return to digital illustration and good old pen and paper. Art has the power to present a reality different from what we see, and Alex takes advantage of this by playing with distortion and surrealism.

Danielle Deculus is a photographer from Tarzana, Los Angeles. While most of her work is created in LA, Danielle also photographs when traveling and exploring other cities. She began making videos when she was very little, taking an interest in photography around 5th grade. Danielle has attended Alexa Cafe Photography summer camp, NYU Film Academy Photography summer camp, and participated in an internship for Steve Sherman Photography. She enjoys creating editorial work and creative portraits, with landscapes in the mix every once in a while. Danielle intends to continue creating and begin focusing her work on feminism, identity, and relationships.

Hannah Rubenstein is a photographer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. She began creating art at a young age, taking up photography in the 8th grade. Hannah works in two main mediums: digital photography and film photography. The first photography class she took was in 7th grade, at the time not thinking she would enjoy it much. When the pandemic hit, Hannah decided to take a photography class to keep her busy, that was when she really started getting good. This year in school, she took film photography and now is the only underclassmen in advanced photography. Hannah is a Staff photographer with jGirls+ and has won an honorable mention for a photograph through Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA). Being able to bring joy and evoke emotions in others through photos motivates her to create images. The camera encourages Hannah to explore and interact. She enjoys photographing many genres, including nature, environments, portraits, and events. A major theme in her work is the personal and sentimental. All of her photographs have something personal whether that be the people or the location of the photo. Hannah enjoys perfecting her technical side of photography, especially the contrast of her photographs. She uses a Nikon 1600 for her digital photography and Adobe Lightroom as her main editing tool. While taking photos, Hannah tries to capture the subject in a positive light and to connect with the person to make them more comfortable in front of the camera in order to capture the perfect shot.

Lydia Miller is a New York based photographer from Atlanta Georgia. She is currently in 11th grade at the Abraham Joshua Heschel school in Manhattan and has taken a variety of art classes, including graphic design, photography and painting. She began taking photography more seriously after moving to NY. Lydia’s work revolves around the two places she has spent the most time, New York and Washington state, with a focus on portraiture, documentary and landscape. She received the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Gold Key for her photo titled “She Knows”. Lydia is always taking photos of all that’s going on around her. She enjoys the aesthetics of nature and being able to memorialize people by capturing them in the moment. Being able to do this and look back on those moments in the future is something she is always thinking about when photographing. Because of this her work focuses on the personal; family, familiar places, and important moments. The two most prominent themes in Lydia’s work are aesthetic perfection, and documenting the beautiful and natural moments of daily life. She uses a phone camera, and has a passion working in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for post production.

Sonja Lippmann is a high school student from San Jose, California with a passion for social justice, Judaism, and being creative. jGirls+ has given her a platform to combine these interests and express them through photography. She has learned how to use her camera as a tool for documenting her own experiences as well as helping others convey their incredible stories. As a photographer, she is particularly inspired by people who are animated and passionate about standing up for what they believe in, so her favorite photos feature people protesting, dancing, and proudly displaying their identities and cultures. Through jGirls+, she has also learned more about the technical aspects of photography and especially enjoys experimenting with various shutter speeds to capture movement. She is excited to continue exploring both the creative and technical sides of photography on the jGirls+ Teen Staff and throughout her life.