Meet Jill Battaglia | Book Cover Photographer and artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jill Battaglia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I’d say the most important factor behind the success I’ve had as a photographer for the book cover market would be my love for the work. I didn’t mind putting aside many other interests so that I could dedicate myself to the one thing. As a result I was able to consistently create many new images week in and week out and get them submitted to the agencies. I put in long hours and it was challenging but it was also great fun and I loved (almost) every second of it!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve always loved art and photography, I majored in art when I was in college but never tried to make a career with it until my kids were almost grown. In 2005, at the suggestion of a friend, I applied and was accepted into Arcangel Images. It’s a photo library that licenses images mainly to book publishers for their covers. A few years later I also joined Trevillion Images which also does the same thing. At first I didn’t really know what I was doing and didn’t get many sales. Then, I was blessed to find a group of friends, some online and some local to me who also worked for Arcangel. We encouraged and challenged each other. It was great fun coming up with creative ideas, searching for props and costumes, and finding models (often family and friends) to dress up and pose for the photos. I also did a lot of traveling around the US and even to England. Historical places were always my favorite, I worked very hard at this for about 10 years, To date I’ve had my photos on over 1200 covers in over 35 countries around the world.

Then, early in 2015 it all came to a crashing halt. My body was severely damaged by fluoroquinolone toxicity. The drug was given to me by my doctor for bronchitis. It destroyed my mitochondria and my nervous system. I could not function and could barely walk. I was basically bed ridden for months trying to figure it all out. It has taken the better part of the last 6-7 years to make it back up to about 80% of where I had been. This might be as good as it will get but I am so very thankful to have made it this far! I’ve been through many detoxes and natural therapies including Ozone as well as flooding my body with nutrients. This has been without a doubt the biggest, most difficult challenge I have ever faced. By the grace of God I feel I have won this war. I don’t think I will ever be able to maintain the kind of work schedule I once did with my photography career, but that’s OK. I had a great run. Now, I’ve been blessed to rediscover the other artistic endeavors I had previously put aside. I’m really enjoying drawing and painting again. I’m learning soft pastel and oil pastel . Collage is also great fun especially when I combine my photos!
Since I still maintain my photos with Arcangel and Trevillion I do continue to get sales for book covers. Plus I also sell prints and cards etc of my photos and other artwork through Fine Art America. God has blessed me abundantly…….and life is good!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We aren’t city people, Our favorite places would be out of the city in the surrounding mountains. We especially love the Superstition Mountains which we can see out of our windows. There are so many hiking and jeep trails around this area that are so fun to explore. Just pack a picnic lunch and we are off!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Well first of all would be my faith in Jesus Christ which has carried me through all the ups and downs of this life. But, next would have to be my amazing husband/ best friend. He has always been incredibly supportive, encouraging, and loving. On top of that he has even allowed me to dress him up in vintage clothing to pose for photographs for me. As a result he has been on many of my book covers!

Website: fineartamerica.com/profiles/jill-battaglia

Instagram: intsagram.com/jmbatt

Other: I also have photos available for license here: archangel.com Trevillion.com Just put my name Jill Battaglia into the search box