Meet Janelle Santacruz | Metro Detroit Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Janelle Santacruz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Janelle, how do you define success?
To me, success is finding pleasure in your own creations. It honestly took me a while to feel comfortable praising my own work out loud in fear of coming off as cocky or anything of that nature, but there should not be any shame in wanting the world to see something you are so proud of.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I like to think of my work as very emotionally expressive in a sense that I really want people to be able to recall the emotions from the moment. With concert photography being my favorite, I make sure to capture the chaos and joy as best as I can in every shot. I love light trails, blurriness, grain, etc. I’m very proud of how far I’ve gotten with my concert photo work in all the years that I have been doing this and my love for music is what really fuels me. I remember the first time I saw photos from Adam Elmakias, likely photos of Pierce the Veil or some other band I loved at the time, and they honestly took my breath away. I was hooked and knew I wouldn’t stop until I was able to take photos in a similar sense, and here I am. I took my camera to every concert I could at the local venue 5 minutes from my house, that same venue is where I met so many of my current photographer friends who supported me from that day forward. I found a sense of community within the music scene and continued to participate in any way I could which also lead to me working in many different capacities within the industry. After about 2 years of doing mainly concert photos, I shifted into doing more portraits, weddings and other big life events. My want to capture raw moments really translated well into the rest of my work and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. I have learned that burn out can come quickly, and it sometimes will hit very hard. It took me a while to tell myself that it’s okay to take breaks and recharge and that it’s also okay to reach out to fellow creatives for ideas of how to get out of these funks! The major takeaway I want people to know about my brand is that I really want you to be able to feel these moments forever, in its raw state. That is my biggest goal in any session.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Downtown Detroit is beautiful and full of so many hidden gems! I think I would start there,and we would definitely hit MGM Casino for some fun, the vibes in Hockeytown Cafe are awesome- especially on a gameday for any team! The nightlife downtown is really just awesome in general. Belle Isle is also a must see, at any time but specifically in the summer, It’s so fun seeing everyone hanging out on the beach there. I’d likely drag a friend of mine to a show with me as well so they could experience it with me! Although, if it’s summertime and hot out you’d likely just find me at any lake having a BBQ and basking in the sun all day.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate this to my friends and family who are constantly supporting me and my work, and to Katy Meininger for being such an awesome mentor in my early years and even now. None of my progression would be possible if it weren’t for my clients who put all their trust in my creative vision!

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