Jens Umbach was born near Kassel in Germany. He received a BA in photography at the University of Darmstadt (Germany) in 1999. During this time, before coming to New York, he was a partner at a studio collective (studio vier) for photography and graphic design in Darmstadt.

In 1997, he moved to New York and began working for various photographers while continuing his studies in Germany. In 1999, Jens started working freelance and dedicated more time to his own work. Since then, his portraits have been published in British Vogue, The New Yorker, Esquire, Galore, brand eins, InStyle, Forbes, and Observer Magazine, as well as the London Telegraph Magazine and London Times.

His advertising clients include Mercedes-Benz, British Airways, IBM, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, American Express and Comcast, among others.

Jens recently photographed Marc Ecko for Galore, James Frey for the London Telegraph, Prince Albert of Monaco for plant-for-the-planet, and Morgan Spurlock for vive magazine.

The opening of a satellite office in Hamburg, Germany, is in the works for 2009.