Lena Vieira

Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and now resides in Chicago, IL. Lena has had a passion for photography since a young age, after a family trip to Yellowstone National Park. She started off as a landscape photographer due to the vast New Mexico landscape all around her, but it wasn't until undergrad that she turned the camera around and started to create self-portraits. As always having an interest in True Crime. Lena explored the happenings around the U.S/ Mexican Border and created the series Discarded Beauty. While in grad school, she turned the camera around again, but this time to a community close and dear to her heart. Lena joined with Autism Speaks Chicago and local Autism schools to create portraits of individuals of all ages and all levels on the spectrum while creating the series Non and Luke, and We are Human.

Lena now teaches photography to all ages around Chicagoland and, in 2015, started her own freelance studio, Vieira Photo, and in 2022 started her sub-studio, VieiraPhoto_The Business Lens, to help small businesses grow with professional photographs of their business and products.