Genuine Moments from Master Storytellers

Jenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber are a husband and wife team based in Minneapolis, MN. You will almost always find them shooting side by side, which has been the case since grad school. They enjoy the collaborative nature of being a tight-knit team and pushing each other to create images that sing. Their goal on every shoot is simple - evoke emotion and authenticity in every image they make.

They take an authentic approach to their work and specialize in providing images of real people to advertising, corporate and editorial clients. They pride themselves in being storytellers and work to create a narrative in every photo they take.

Their work has been honored by the Communication Arts Photography Annual and Advertising Annual 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, American Photography 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, PDN Photo Annual, Review Santa Fe Center Project Competition, Photolucida’s Critical Mass, Inge Morath Award, Magnum Expression Award, POYi, and many others. Their most recent documentary film won an Emmy and they were named a McKnight Fellow and to PDN's 30 Photographers to Watch.

For their aerial work they are FAA 107 certified pilots and fully insured.

Awards

2018 American Photography 34
2017 American Photography 33
2017 Communication Arts Photography Annual
2016 American Photography 32
2016 Magazzini Fotografici Exhibit, Venice Italy
2015 Communication Arts Photography Annual
2015 American Photography 31
2015 PDN Photo Annual
2015 Minnesota State Artist Initiative Grant Recipient
2014 Communication Arts Photography Annual
2014 American Photography 30 Book Selection
2013 McKnight Fellow
2013 Communication Arts Advertising Annual
2013 PDN Photo Annual
2013 Minnesota State Artist Initiative Grant Recipient
2013 Documentary Photographers Fund
2012 Best of ASMP
2012 PDN’s 30
2012 American Photography 28 Book Selection
2012 Flash Forward
2011 PDN Photo Annual

2011 Center Project Award Finalist
2011 Magnum Expression Award Finalist
2010 International Photojournalism Competition on Human Rights
2010 Flash Forward – Emerging Photographers
2009 Emmy for Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons
2009 Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50
2009 Communication Arts Photography Annual
2009 Webby Awards
2009 New York Photo Awards
2009 Best of Photojournalism Awards: 1st Place
2008 Pictures of the Year International
2008 Photographers Giving Back Award
2008 Finalist for the Center for Documentary Studies / Honickman First Book Prize
2006 Pictures of the Year International