Walking in the Literacy Center, you may notice some of the art work hanging on the walls. What you probably don’t know is that junior Jenna Moore took those photos. Pictures are worth 1,000 words and you can interpret art in any way that you want, which is why Moore loves what she does.

As a little girl, Moore’s grandfather would always photograph her doing just about anything. Playing the piano or playing outside, whatever she did, her grandfather had a photo for it. Moore’s grandfather passed last summer, and that’s when Moore started to explore more with photography.

“He was always so into photography, so it inspired me to follow in his footsteps and make him proud,” Moore said.

Many artists have different types of styles which is what makes their work so unique. Moore’s style is mainly made up of portraits, of either of herself or of her friend, junior Mackenzie Hoffman. Moore’s portraits have different facial expressions that she uses to try and tell a story with. She has her models try to make expressions that would resemble emotions like: pain, hurt, happiness, sadness, etc.

“Jenna would have me standing in 0 degree or 80 degree weather just for a couple of photos, but I never mind that because I know that photography truly makes her happy,” Hoffman said.

Other than portraits, Moore likes to shoot landscape photos. She shoots photographs from vacations she has been on to Mexico. Sometimes, she does landscape photos from whenever she goes to downtown Chicago, Pilsen, or beaches during the summer time. Throughout most of her work you can find vibrant colors that she purposely uses to catch your eye.

“Jenna’s portraits show the emotion of the subject, and her landscape photos always tell a story about her various adventures. She is a master of color within her photography and will continue to work on her images until they are perfect,” Moore’s photography teacher Ms. Deanna Sortino said.

Over the past three years that Moore has participated in the photography program at Niles West, she has won a Scholastic Silver Key award for one of her dramatic lighting photos, and has had one of her landscape photos be apart of the UNICEF NextGen Art Show at the Bucketfeet Gallery in Chicago, where it sold for $200. She now has her artwork hanging up in the Lit Center as a part of a National Art Honor initiative for the month of February. Moore is also a part of the National Art Society and UNICEF. Moore plans on furthering her art career in college where she plans on minoring in photography.

“Pictures are worth so many words and I feel like everyone has a different interpretation through photography and art, and that is why I love doing what I do,” Moore said.