Born in New York City in 1977, Jennifer MacFarlane studied photography at The School of Visual Arts. Her studies were frequently punctuated by her travels around the world.

With the world as her backyard, her childhood exposure to the variety of life in the immigrant neighborhood where she was raised in the suburbs of New York City was one of her biggest influences. Growing up among Caribbean, Filipino and Hassidic people triggered her desire to learn the secrets that every house and every corner held. With the camera as her companion since she was fourteen, her formative teenage years saw her amidst the New York Punk and Hardcore scene. Being a part of that sub-culture, and never lacking for material, she was encouraged to photograph and document all that was happening around her.

She has participated in a number of group shows and her works have been exhibited nationally. She was the brainchild behind SPICE, a Photography Exhibition and Auction for tsunami reconstruction (2005). Her work is included in permanent collection at the Brooklyn Public Library.