gail o'hara cofounded chickfactor magazine in 1992 with pam berry, and has since become a prolific portraitist; chickfactor the print magazine is still going, and the new website, chickfactor.com, has finally launched. gail also started a record label, enchanté records, in 1994 and takes the photos of the bands on her label (containe and the pacific ocean).

since 1994, gail o'hara has been stephin merritt's (the magnetic fields, the 6ths, future bible heroes, gothic archies) official photographress. four of her photographs are in the U.S. booklet for 69 love songs, and the cover image of the handsome sam davol on disc two is gail's. her photos of stephin were used in the first 6ths lp, wasps nests (1995), and she is one of the models used on the cover of get lost. gail is currently working on a documentary about merritt.

gail's photos have appeared in chickfactor, the new york times, the times sunday magazine (london), the washington post, time out, time out new york, the washington city paper, cmj, the village voice, raygun, lgny, rockpile, pulse, playbill, HX, billboard, and many more. she's had two exhibitions: the first was at ladyfest 2000 in olympia, wa; the second was a solo show at nyc's other music.

born in washington, d.c., gail mostly uses a canon rebel, a '60s rollei german spy camera, and a variety of polaroids. she also fancies lomos.