An artistic underwater maternity portrait of a pregnant woman posing gracefully in a flowing lavender dress. — Credit: Jen Naugle Photography

Sunbeams filtering through water, sediment stirred by movement or lily pads drifting into frame–what might be imperfections elsewhere become defining features in Jen Naugle’s portraits. For the Tampa-based photographer, underwater portraiture is more than just capturing what meets the eye. In her lens, women emerge weightless, serene and celebrated, each image a delicate blend of fine art and personal empowerment.

Naugle works primarily with women, crafting dreamlike portraits that resemble watercolor paintings more than traditional photos. Much of this work happens in a natural spring on her property in Seminole Heights, a setting that shapes both her creative process and the ethereal quality of her images.

“I just love working with women–I love seeing people feel good about themselves, and to see how beautiful they are,” she said. “We don’t walk around every day thinking about ourselves like that.”

Unlike studio photography, where factors like lighting and angles can be tightly-controlled, Naugle embraces the unpredictable variables of the environment.

“The spring is my favorite–there’s just such an interesting depth to the sediment that comes up,” Naugle said. “There’s a lot less in my control, which is really exciting creatively.”

Naugle began her photography career in 2005 after studying graphic design at Ringling College of Art and Design and working in marketing at Raymond James. She started with weddings, headshots and family portraits, but over time her interests and client base shifted.

“The spring is such a lucky thing,” she said. “I didn’t have this big epiphany. I just felt intuitively it was the right thing to do.”

She gradually, nervously, moved toward underwater photography. After buying underwater camera equipment, she admits she didn’t touch it for over a month. Her breakthrough came when she photographed her daughter and friends in the spring, unlocking an entirely new photographic style.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” she said. “Every photo shoot turns out so unique—they’re never going to look the same. It has to do with the ground, how calm the client is, whether they kick things up, and then how the sunbeams illuminate the sediment in the water.”

Her sessions are both physically and emotionally immersive. Before clients ever enter the water, she spends 30 to 45 minutes on the phone answering questions, then follows up with detailed instructions about what to bring and how to prepare.

Once submerged, nerves are common, but fleeting.

“People will feel during the photoshoot like they’re flailing around. They don’t feel like they look good. And I’m always like, ‘It looks beautiful, I promise,’” she said.

By the end, clients often feel energized and invigorated–a transformation that draws many women to her work.

“I work with a lot of women going through divorce, kids leaving the house, retirement,” Naugle said. “To see these beautiful images of ourselves in a special way–it makes me so happy.”

Angelica Gillot, who photographed with Naugle while 32 weeks pregnant with her first child, said the experience allowed her to briefly step outside the identity of pregnancy and reconnect with herself.

“Everything is heavy and hurts, but then you get in the water, and you feel this lightness that you’re otherwise incapable of feeling,” she said. “It almost gave me the freedom to not feel pregnant–it was like, ‘I’m just a woman today’.”

Seeing the final images was emotional, not because of the milestone, but because of the opportunity to see herself in a different light.

“I’ve had professional photos taken before, but these were just so different,” Gillot said. “To see myself photographed in such an atypical way–it was incredibly powerful.”

Influenced by photographer Sally Mann, she prioritizes mood and atmosphere, encouraging clients to turn their shots into physical artwork on acrylic, metal or fine-art paper rather than just digital files.

“These deserve to be seen,” she said. “Digital images just disappear into a computer.”

That fine-art focus has begun to carry her work beyond private sessions. Naugle’s photographs are currently included in a Florida Museum of Photographic Arts member exhibition on view through mid-March, and she is preparing to participate in She Is Art, an all-female, all-local showcase tied to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation’s She Is Football Weekend.

“I want people to come away with something that feels like art,” she said. “Something that only happens in that moment.”