Jenelle Wexler is not your typical baby photographer. In fact, the mom of two from McHenry, Illinois, is not a photographer at all.
"I’m a hairstylist by trade," she tells CafeMom. "I just love taking photos of my kids." You can hear her 3-month-old daughter, Liberty, gurgling in the background and her 2-year-old son, River, asking his mom, "Mom, where is my napkin?" But such is the life for a busy working mom who is juggling two kids and while her recent passion project has quickly gone viral.
Between her parenting duties and her career, Wexler has somehow found time to become a whiz with a needle and thread. This explains why her skill for crafting and costume making has blossomed into projects that regularly catch the media's attention. Her costumes have graced the cover of Chicago Parent, and she's been covered on her local news station in the past for an amazing Halloween costume she designed for her son.
Her latest project combines her two hobbies as a series of colorful photos of her youngest daughter as she portrays famous women throughout history. And her inventive Instagram account has already caught on with other parents.
Wexler first started doing elaborate photoshoots of her kids with her son, River. "When [River] was a baby, I dressed him up as a burrito for Halloween and started doing holiday photoshoots with him," she explains. "I started a little Instagram [for him]. We do anywhere from Christmas, Halloween, Cinco de Mayo, Octoberfest, so it started with him. And when Liberty was born, [I thought] I’m definitely going to do shoots of the two of them together and then I took a little spin-off of it."
That spin-off was the Instagram account Photography of Liberty, a series of photos of her then 3-week-old daughter dressed as famous influential women. Wexler first got the idea to dress up her newborn daughter when she was looking at her baby girl and inspiration struck. "I was like, ‘I love Frida Kahlo. I need to dress her up as a little baby Frida," she says. But Wexler didn't stop there. Soon there would be a tiny Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a tiny Jane Goodall, and even a tiny Dolly Parton.
FRIDA KAHLO
Wexler says that her daughter was only 3 weeks old when she first took a photo of her dressed in costume.
JOAN OF ARC
Once Wexler knew that she wanted to focus her series on influential women, she go to work researching and planning who she wanted to cover. "There are some really badass women — it was neat," she says.
AMELIA EARHART
"[The project] is informative for me too because I would pick someone and may not know too much about them," she says. "Then I research them and I add a little bio to the picture that I’m doing. I’ve learned a lot from the women too."
MOTHER TERESA
She tells us that because her series has picked up in notoriety, even the clients she works with at her salon have suggested new women that they want Liberty to portray. "‘Oh how about so-and-so?'" Wexler says. "'Have you done Florence Nightingale yet?’ It’s fun because my friends and clients are getting in on it too."
SALLY RIDE
"A lot of them have said, “I learned a lot from your post. I didn’t know a lot about these women,'" she says. "It’s pretty cool. It’s cool getting that response."
BETSY ROSS
She tells us that, "I didn’t think anything [about making the account go viral] and then I got contacted [by the media] and it just spiraled."
MADONNA
Wexler says that to create her spot-on scenarios, she tries to keep things as simple as possible and use what she has on hand.
AUDREY HEPBURN
It certainly helps that she's a bit of a crafter. "I guess I’m a creative soul at heart, even if it’s my day off I have to be doing something creative and something with my hands," she says.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The busy mom says that despite having a day job and being a mom, she "needs" to do projects like this "cause that’s my outlet. That keeps me happy and that keeps me sane."
MALALA
And she says that she tries to involve her kids, so that the activity can be a family affair. "I really try to is involve my son with it. I say ‘Hey, we’re going to get this going and we’re going to make you a pair of pants.’"
CLEOPATRA
Then she and River pick out the fabric, and he will help her pick out colors for a costume she is making for Liberty.
COCO CHANEL
She even admits that she'll fit in a quick sewing session while her kids take their naps. "Even if they’re napping and I have 20 minutes. I take that time for myself and [want to] be able to get my idea down 'cause that’s my stress reliever. Even if I have downtime, that is my downtime," she says.
KATHRINE SWITZER
Wexler's busy brain never stops coming up with new ideas for photoshoots. "Everyone asks me ‘where do you keep all of these costumes and props?’ I have bins labeled things like ‘Thanksgiving Props,’ ‘Christmas Props.' I’m always thinking of new ideas that I can do," she says.
SACAGAWEA
And sometimes the costumes become a teachable moment for her son. "He is only 2-and-a-half, but he’ll see me dress her up and he’ll be like, ‘Well, who’s sister being now?’ and I’ll say, ‘Oh she’s being Sacagawea.’ And he’ll go ‘Sacagawea? Who’s she?’"
JACKIE MITCHELL
And sometimes Wexler and her husband have to explain some of the tougher portrayals. "Here’s my 2-and-a-half-year-old son who’s asking my husband, ‘Who’s Anne Frank?’ And he goes, ‘Did he just literally ask me who Anne Frank is?'"
ROSIE THE RIVETER
As a subject, Liberty is "super cooperative. My husband laughs at me because he is getting ready to leave for work and I’m taking photos of her."
JULIA CHILD
And mom says that the shoots are usually easy because "Liberty wakes up in the morning, that’s usually the best time and the best light. She smiles through it. You just talk to her and make noises [to get her to smile[ and of course her brother gets in on the action."
MARIE CURIE
And Wexler is decidedly low tech when it comes to her equipment. "I actually I do it all on my iPhone, so I don’t even use — we have a nice, fancy Nikon. But I just literally use my phone — that’s the easiest," she explains.
HILLARY CLINTON
The response to Wexler's series has been overwhelmingly positive. "I’ve gotten a super, super positive response, which has been great," she says.
MARY LOU RETTON
Wexler is still in awe that people have been so positive about what she is doing. "Some stranger will write “This just made my morning.' And it’s like some complete stranger, and I think ‘My daughter just made some complete stranger smile and I don’t know who they are,'" she remarks.
BILLIE JEAN KING
She even has had a celebrity reach out about her tiny look-alike! "Billie Jean King made a comment and wrote on Liberty’s Facebook the other day. I thought ‘You have got to be kidding!' I wanted to cry. Who knew? Oh my god — Billie Jean King just gave me a compliment and that was awesome!"
DOLLY PARTON
We're sure that this super mom will get even more attention now that more people are seeing her amazing creations online.
JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS
She even adds that she already has her next couple of photos completed. "Carmen Miranda, Anne Bancroft. (She is pretty awesome; she was the first woman to ski across the South Pole.) Annie Oakley. I just had a friend suggest that I do the first female national park ranger."
We can hardly wait!