The event was held on September 18, 2025 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

Session Description:

What do portraits really show us? Is it just a face—or something much deeper beneath the surface? In this session, two very different artists—Jennifer McClure and Breana Helders—will show and talk about their portraits: works shaped by solitude, grief, memory, and connection. They don’t just photograph people—they photograph moments, emotions, and questions. Expect an evening of honest reflection, quiet intensity, and conversation about how photography becomes personal, even when it looks simple. You’ll see their images, hear their thoughts, and maybe walk away seeing portraiture a little differently than before.

Jennifer McClure is a fine art photographer based in New York City. She uses the camera to ask and answer questions. The Leica Gallery in Boston presented her solo show “How Easily We Are Undone” in 2024. Her first book, You Who Never Arrived, was published as by Peanut Press in 2020. She was awarded CENTER’s Editor’s Choice by Susan White of Vanity Fair in 2013 and has been exhibited in numerous shows across the country. Her work has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Vogue, GUP, The New Republic, Lenscratch, Feature Shoot, L’Oeil de la Photographie, The Photo Review, Dwell, and PDN. She has taught workshops for Leica Akademie, International Center of Photography, Los Angeles Center of Photography, PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo, the Maine Media Workshops, and the Griffin Museum of Photography. She founded the Women’s Photo Alliance in 2015.
Website: www.jennifermcclure.com

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Breana Helders Bio:

Breana Mazzagatte was born in California in 1990, and raised in La Puente, a city in East Los Angeles County. Her portraiture often carries a theme of ache and tension, drawing from her own life, which has been windswept by grief. An experience she detailed in a podcast produced by Campfire Media, called “My Dead Parents”. Mazzagatte’s series, ‘Bleed For Me” featuring portraits of nosebleeds, was published in Monster Children’s annual in 2022. Since, Mazzagatte was a featured photographer in Leica Camera’s SL3 campaign and has been published by magazines like Coveteur, Arlette, and Insomnia. In 2025 Mazzagatte was a finalist in the Women’s Street Photography New York Exhibition, shown at Artspace PS109. She was also a finalist in the 2025 Lensculture Portrait Awards.
Website: www.breanamazzagatte.com