Mary Degner is the founder of MJ Degner Photography, based in Naperville, IL. A professional photographer who is passionate about creating impactful natural light portraits, landscapes, and nature, her interest in photography began in high school when she started capturing images on family vacations. She continued to pursue photography as an avid hobbyist while growing her corporate event management career. After experiencing a reduction in demand for corporate event management due to Covid, Mary decided to take the leap and open her own photography business in 2020. Coming from a very entrepreneurial family background, she was more than familiar with the positives and challenges of managing a small business. But, by combining her corporate business and client services experience as a solid base with her love of photography, the journey has been rewarding and enjoyable. MJ Degner Photography prides itself on providing professional portraits for some of the most important events in her clients’ life: Senior Portraits (high school and college), legacy Family Portraits, Maternity Portraits, Engagement/Couples Portraits, and small Personal Events. In addition, the studio offers Headshot Sessions for both corporate and creative professionals, as well as a variety of corporate projects, including seminars, conferences, and client appreciation events. Her sessions are personalized, fun, and relaxed; she makes it a priority to listen to and understand her client’s needs and ideas. She then crafts the tailored experience, and walks her client through all of their session details from beginning to end, making the process as easy and carefree for them as possible. In addition to portraiture, Mary loves creating landscape and nature fine art images that are vibrant and dramatic. Each fine art image is created with the purpose of intimately connecting the viewer to her image’s subject – whether it be a majestic mountain range or the close-up of a vivid floral – inspiring enjoyment and reflection. Conveniently, her fine art is available for purchase directly through her website. MJ Degner Photography also offers commissioned fine art projects to enhance a home and/or business environment. Travel, Nature, Life: her business tagline signifies how all of her images are meant to convey a story, and to inspire and transport the observer into a joyful frame of mind.