
My name is Hannah Rubenstein, and I am a member of the class of 2024 at Community High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I have been pursuing photography in school and out of school for a little over a year now. I have been an artist my whole life—if it was picking up a paintbrush to make something abstract, gluing random supplies together to create something imaginary, or picking up my camera to capture a great shot, I have always enjoyed art. My Jewish background comes from my elementary school (Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor); my synagogue (Beth Israel Congregation); and my camp, where I just spent my first summer (Camp Ramah in California).
One of my many interests is working on crew for my school’s theater organization (Community Ensemble Theater). Last year, I was on sets and props and because of COVID-19, we took photos of different backgrounds to be captured on green screens. This year, I hope to serve as staff on my school’s newspaper, The Communicator, where I can explore journalism and photography in a different context. Along with my other interests, I also enjoy bike rides, baking/cooking, Spanish, and poetry. During my first year at jGirls+, I am looking forward to pairing articles with photos, exploring details in photographs, and learning more about Judaism through others’ perspectives.
Photography Portfolio
In addition to the images published on jGirls+ as stand-alone works or visuals accompanying articles by other contributors, the following is a curated selection of Hannah’s works.
Artist’s Statement
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.