Growing up in Wildwood Illinois, Gregg Hangebrauck was introduced to photography at a very early age. Gregg's father Cal was a shutter bug. Their family home had a permanent darkroom and Gregg was given his first camera, a German model named "Paxette" at the age of ten..

It wasn't very long afterwards that Gregg was shooting black and white and developing and printing his own imagery. "I had a real understanding of shutter speed, aperture settings, depth of field, and developing film years before entering High School. I am lucky to have a father with so many interests, and my Dad's love of photography has rubbed off on me."

Gregg also had a natural artist's eye for composition. It is his photography and art which was instrumental in Gregg's focus in study in high school. Gregg had top honors in printing, art and vocational printing, and his natural ability in this field is what was resulted in Gregg being hired in his first graphics firm, Munder Color.