Meet Jennifer Dent of Jenna Von Lish

Jennifer, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2014, as a stay at home mom whose kids were now entering junior high, I was searching for a way to rediscover myself if you will. As most parents do you get wrapped up in being mom and taxi and supporter of everyone else in the household that when my kids became teenagers, I needed a hobby… something I was passionate about. I found that start early on getting involved in a non-profit for veterans that revolves around dressing in the vintage era “Pinup” clothing and raising money as well as bringing awareness to such topics as veteran care and suicide.

Little did I know, that this platform would catapult a full-blown career that would still allow me the same avenue to spread awareness about veterans but would multiply that by leaps and bounds by taking me into peoples homes on national cable television and film as well as grace the covers of a magnitude of publications from the US to International publications. Aside from modeling, now I am the Secretary and Treasurer for The Luscious Ladies Houston Chapter. The Luscious Ladies is a social group of women who cherish and live a retro lifestyle. Essentially we are a group that strives to make a positive impact directly in the communities in which we live in. We volunteer and raise money for local groups such as Kids Meals Inc and area women centers. Our goal is to provide support both to our community and to each other as well as share our love of all things vintage with everyone we meet.

The love of the camera in modeling allowed me to network with some incredible folks that were in casting television and feature films and so acting became an additional way to supplement my income and drive my passion for the arts and creativity. If you’ve ever watched Reelz Channel, you probably caught a glimpse of me in several of their programs. I’ve played roles on two seasons of their hit program The Price of Fame, as well as Scandal Made Me Famous. I was able to make a background appearance on the incredible show Queen of the South and most recently got to be part of a feature film releasing soon titled The Last Champion directed by Glenn Withrow and starring Cole Hauser of The Fast & The Furious Legacy. You can find my full entertainment credits on the IMDB website. I’ve been blessed enough to turn a hobby into a dream job, and every day I pinch myself that this is reality!

Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all! In modeling, you learn very quickly that there are tons of people that want you to work for free or “exposure” and it’s easy to get discouraged because when you say “no” there are 100 other Social Media Models that’ll say yes. So you miss out on tons of work as you’re building your brand and trying to separate yourself from the trend of Instagram fame. You realize quickly in that same struggle that quality over quantity of bookings is extremely important.

Once you set that price on your time and put a value on what you do It’s imperative that you remember your worth. I’ll use the analogy of running shoes… people can buy cheap running shoes and get the job done, but the pains afterwards are usually greater than if they would’ve just invested in a great pair that had proven results. Much like a photo shoot works, you may find a photographer or model to work for free, but often the desired results differ from the vision you had.

I’ve been lucky enough to find a couple of incredible Houston photography groups on social media that offer the luxury of photo shooting in the “TFP” or time for photo atmosphere where each party involved knows they’re working strictly to advance their skills. I think when you have additional time in your schedule that allows for some of those opportunities it’s a great thing to do.