Name: Kristin Frost

Representing: KLFROST Photography

# of Years Experience: 21

When I am not at at session or editing, you can find me hanging out with my family or on pinterest. Right before my twins were born I was asked to photograph one of my friends babies, and ever since then and after each of my 4 babes were born I have been obsessed with capturing those fleeting moments for momma. Especially at the beginning of each babe, that time becomes fuzzy. Have those documented memories mean the world to me.

I LOVE capturing all things motherhood. I also specialize in Maternity, Babies, Children and Families.

I would describe my style as whimsical and classic with a luxurious, custom feel. I love bright colors, emotional connection and bringing in that extra layer to each session by incorporating their family blankets, lovies, something dad loves, etc. I enjoy keeping up with my education, taking online courses and researching new methods to make my art more unique and special for my clients.

Kath Vergara of KathV Photography has to be one of my favorites. Her use of color, texture and magical touch. I fell in love with her work after finding her on instagram – LOVE her art!

Never give up and keep yourself educated!

I use a NIKON 7200. My go to lenses are my 35mm and 18-140 3.5-5.6… other random items you will find in my bag: mints, pez, clothes pins, bubbles, a cat toy (to tickle little ones)

My indoor studio for shooting Newborns, using natural light and having all of my props accessories on hand. I LOVE being able to take care of momma; setting out coffee/tea/water, prepackaged snacks, creating a calm atmosphere for her to relax and enjoy as well as babe.

I graduated college in 2003 with a Bachelor in Fine Arts specializing in Photography. This helped me with the technical and artistic composition part of my training. I learned how to start & manage my own business through trial and error, lots of patience and online education. Taking courses online from elite professional photographers is what finally helped my art to go the next level.

I started my business while being a stay at home mom to three, under three. I owe so much to my friends and family that supported me through hiring me, allowing me to capture their heirloom images.

After my 4th child, who is now 4, came along I had to step back from Birth Photography and being full time. I knew that it was time to let that genre of photography go for a brief time, because I was no longer available to be on call 2 weeks before and after due date. I definitely felt God telling me to step back, keep part time hours and focus on your littles. Definitely the best decision I made.

My goal is to give each of my clients a luxurious & fun experience while I capture images that are joyful, unique, emotional, and beautiful.

Name: Amanda Yskes

Representing: Hocus Focus Photography

# of Years Experience: 5

Children are my inspiration. The innocence of a newborn to the mischievous glimmer in the eye of a toddler; to stifle their playfulness is to steal the soul from the portrait. When I’m not photographing little ones, I am a mom at home. Being a mom myself keeps me in check, like the efforts clients go through to get to a session, how much they want their children to ‘just cooperate for once’. I get it. I hear my clients and I strive to bring calmness and assuredness to each session. My children are young, and so are most of the children that come to me from client families. We are all in a similar walk of life; in fact, I find it more awkward to photograph a teenager than a toddler, at this point!

Light is light. I love dramatic shadows; I love simplicity. I love letting the light trickle over my subject and pool in different areas to bring about depth and drama whilst maintaining the beauty and fresh elegance to a newborn portrait.

I’ve collectively fallen in love with photographs like Erin Tole, Charlotte Gamache, Jennifer Guntzman, Annie Whitaker, Meghan MacDonald, Marsha Pizzaro, Hello Little (Erin & Theresa Rouse) and Brianna Payne; looking at the portfolios of these photographers I believe you can find a few things most in common: dramatic lighting, simplicity, and details.

Be easy on yourself. Start small and work your way up. There’s no sense in working yourself into a hole before you’ve even started the climb. Bit by bit; perseverance will get you there. Value yourself and your work. Put yourself first. If you are in good spirits, your business and work will thrive, and your clients will be happy.

I shoot with a Canon EOS R. I shot with a Canon 5d Mark iii for years and it served me well, but I appreciate the lightweight and updated features of the new mirrorless camera. My lens of choice in the studio is my 50mm 1.2, but I’m also quite fond of my 135mm F2 (for outdoors) and my Sigma 35mm 1.4

My studio is my most favourite place in the world. It’s me, my style, where I do what I love, and it’s home. What more can you ask for? (Okay… maybe some more space for more props??)

I’ve taken several online courses for newborn posing; my skills developed very slowly as I gained confidence. I have never ever placed a baby in the path of danger; even in the midst of pressuring clients, I knew my limits and I knew what I was comfortable with. And even then, I waited. I finally attended a newborn posing workshop that helped me perfect those poses and am part of an ongoing group that continually adds content with new posing, better posing, and new/improved posing tools to increase the efficiency and safety of posing tiny newborn bodies.

When I first started I travelled to clients’ homes hauling massive rubbermaid bins of props and gear to photograph their newborns. When I started to outgrow that phase in my business (after about 2 exhausting years) I rented my first studio space. The overhead was extremely expensive and eye-opening. I realized that in order to afford something like this I would need to charge much more. But, in the midst of heavy business, I found myself overwhelmed. I ended up moving my whole family to a bigger house where I was able to have a studio in a bonus room, which is where we are today, and things have been getting better year by year. I’ve since switched from all-inclusive to in-person sales, where I have an ordering room and studio. Life isn’t as busy anymore; although I am low volume, I am able to equally balance family and photography life while still being paid for my time (more than I did before!) Of course, it doesn’t just happen. It’s a continual grooming of yourself and your brand, honing and fine-tuning your experiences for clients to provide a professional, experienced and knowledgeable experience that lets people know that 1) you know what you’re doing, 2) you’re going to do a great job for them, and 3) they’re going to be SO happy that they went with you!

Switching from all-inclusive sales to in-person sales is perhaps the biggest leap of faith I ever did for my business; getting fair return for the time invested into your business is critical. Whilst many photographers compete and get confused with what to charge, charge what YOU believe is fair to YOU. What will make you shoot this session today? What will make it easier for you to deal with whatever that client (might) throw at you? What amount of effort are you putting into your business, and are you getting fair return for that. Not just in the shooting and editing, but the efforts you put into finding clients and managing everything in between (and taking time away from your own personal life).

You don’t have to do in-person sales to “charge your worth”. But I think that in order to run a profitable business it’s important to be able to look in the mirror and say, “You are worth this. Your time is worth this. Your work is worth this.” Then get up and go get’em, tiger (or tigress!)

I’m going to listen. Listen to you. I’ll talk a little bit, but I want to hear all about the types of photos you love, what kind of experience you want, how you envision your images in your home, and what I can do to make your experience flawless. I have developed a flow in all of my sessions to keep them moving, to keep them engaging, and to keep the genuine expressions going and have the nerves fade away within just a few minutes of starting. I’m going to show you images that you thought were near impossible to capture, unless by some miracle. I’m going to (quite possibly) make you cry tears of joy when you see the genuine beauty of your family, your baby, your children in your photographs. And you are going to be so excited to take your images home and hang them proudly on your walls and feel those feelings over and over again for years to come.

Name: Tyrene Gomila

Representing: Special Memories Photography

# of Years Experience: 5

I am 39yrs old. I ventured out in photography 5 years ago. I was taught in my photography school to know well how to master all types of photography as this gives a good foundation of skills as a photographer. I started as a hobby until one day I realised I loved doing it and more and more people complimented my work and more wanted me to photograph them. At this stage I realised I loved people photography. I do weddings, family photography and now I am narrowing it to new born baby Photography.
I am a single mother of 3 beautiful children and I want to inspire others that no matter what your circumstances may be to focus forward, pursue your dreams.. As you can imagine I had quite a strive and many setbacks as a single mother with another job and along the way I did get many who thought it was impossible to achieve and succeed. However, I am here to tell you it is possible! what ever you are passionate about, pursue it! keep moving forward and focusing on what you truly want to be in life and if you keep the right attitude and positivity you will be a winner!

I describe my photography as versatile. I don’t like sticking to the norm and I like to creative something different to others. I can be from simple to creative.

Kathleen Valerga and Ana Brandt their work has always inspired me

Do your research and search as many New born baby P)photographers as possible, find a few you love their work and take on board workshop0s from them. Also there are many good videos on you tube form many great new baby photographers. Know well how your camera works and lighting. Practise with dolls and eventually do Model calls or ask friends with babies to practise with them. Never show your insecurities to the clients, show a brave confident face and with time the more you do and practise the more comfortable you become around the babies.

I use a 7D EOS Canon and yes soon I am upgrading! However, I always say that the most important are the lenses you use. I use the 35mm and 5Omm p0rime lenses. I definitely recommend prime lenses. They produce good quality and clear images. When I first started photography I owned a cheap Canon Camera… I remember almost everyone in our class had top Cameras and I was worried I would not produce great images. However I won every category of the competition! Off course as a professional Photographer you need good quality cameras and lenses, but most important you need to have a good eye, you need to plan in your head the picture ahead before photographing and know well how to use your camera.

I hold most of my sessions in my home studio. I have great big windows and usually I am lucky to have good natural light, given I live in a warm country with plenty of sunlight. Still, weather can be unreliable and different times of day light can be cooler and not as good to shoot in. So it’s important you know also how to use studio lights.

Kath V Photography
Ana Brandt

I started with the basics. In the beginning try and purchase only the basics and as your confidence and experience raises simply raise the prices, also raise the quality of props and backdrops as it will produce more quality and you can further raise prices. My advice as to profit is to slowly build the assets and as you are building your business name you can raise prices.

There were many setbacks. In my country owning a personal studio can be extremely expensive. I felt very frustrated at first and then realised having a home studio wasn’t that bad at all! We must adapt to our availability of resources and that does not mean you can still succeed! You must embrace the little beginnings,make the best of what ever resources you have even if it is little! be patient and not loose hope and keep very focused!

Name: Lorena Pena

Representing: Lore Peña Baby Photography

# of Years Experience: 11

Soy una persona enamorada del arte desde niña, mis primeros recuerdos son relacionados con actividades artísticas, que hago en mi tiempo libre? tengo poco de eso, pues realizo varias actividades aparte de la fotografía, soy Bombero Voluntario desde el año 2002,muy apegada a la atención pre hospitalaria, aparte de ello, conjuntamente con un compañero, hemos creado y estamos al frente de una fundación para ayuda social, pero mi mente esta ocupada casi en su totalidad por la fotografía de recién nacidos, pensando como mejorar cada día. Me involucré en esta hermosa rama de la fotografía poco a poco, cuando me dí cuenta, ésta ya era mi forma de vida, hay muchas personas que me inspiran y de quienes aprendo a diario como Kelly Brown,simplemente amo su trabajo.

Yo la describiría como un estilo cálido, atemporal, pero muy floral, me dejo llevar por la ternura que representa un bebé, manejo la sesión de una manera muy relajada, para que sea un momento bello para el bebé, para la familia, para mi y mi equipo de trabajo.

Fui llegando a la fotografía de bebé, dejándome llevar por la tendencia, de pronto, me encontré realizando la actividad que me acabó definiendo tanto personal como laboralmente.

Que se permita realizar esta actividad con amor, pero siempre de la mano con la formación y la seguridad, que recuerde, que ninguna imagen paga el bienestar de un bebé que nos han confiado, que no se deje frenar por las adversidades, que siga adelante, cumpliendo sueños con esta hermosa profesión.

MI cámara es una Nikon, me encanta sus colores, uso mayormente un lente 35mm y un 18-140 y en mi maletín de fotografía no puede faltar una liga para agarrar mi cabello, un par de medias cómodas para poder sacarme los zapatos y mucha paciencia.

Las sesiones las realizamos de manera exclusiva dentro de nuestro estudio, mismo que está adecuado para las mismas, tanto en temperatura, luz y limpieza.

*Dream Newborn Workshop, Quito Ecuador, Magaly Gisel, 2016.
*Workshop Newborn, Melero Rodriguez, Ambato Ecuador, 2018.
*Dreams Mini Baby and Kids, María Barrenechea, Quito Ecuador, 2018.
*Baby C., Congreso de fotografía infantil, Daniela Rodriguez, Alexandra Behr, Fini Perez, Luderly Suarez, Catalina Avila, Alma Flores, Bogota Colombia, 2019.
*Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals, Advanced Life Support, American Academy of Pediatrics, Formación en Atención Prehospitalaria en niños y neonatos, Guayaquil Ecuador, 2019.
*Varios talleres online con Kelly Brown.

Iniciamos en la fotografía, en el año 2008 con sesiones de maternidad, trabajamos siempre en estudio y fuimos involucrándonos de a pocos en las sesiones infantiles, llegando sutilmente a fotografiar bebés recién nacidos, volviéndose ésta la actividad principal de nuestro negocio, hoy en día tenemos un grupo de trabajo bien formado, entre mi esposo, mi mamá y yo y detrás de nosotros varias personas que con su apoyo logran que todo esté de manera justa para cada sesión.
El papel más importante, fue el ver a las sesiones newborn, como una excelente fuente de trabajo y en general una forma de vida.

El mayor desafío siempre fue, el romper los esquemas culturales de nuestra ciudad y las ciudades cercanas, para ingresar con la fotografía de maternidad de inicio y luego la de newborn, ya que somos pioneros en nuestra localidad con este tipo de fotografía; las herramientas siempre han sido, la formación y la perseverancia.

Las imágenes que reflejen el mejor momento de sus bebés, puntualidad y respeto.

Name: Ariel Cannon

Representing: Ariel Cannon Photography

# of Years Experience: 7

I live in Los Angeles with my husband, 9 year old daughter and 6 year old son. I grew up on a small island off the coast of Cape Cod (Nantucket), but have called Los Angeles my home since 2001. I photograph both newborns and families. When I had my own children I skipped the newborn photographs because I (mistakenly) thought that newborn portraits had to mean lots of props and complicated posing. I also heard the same from a lot of my family clients who came to me with older babies. I started photographing newborns because I wanted to provide my clients with the type of newborn photographs I would want of my own babies!

Words I use to describe my newborn work are simple, natural and minimalist. I think the absence of all the extras (props, outfits, etc) let’s my subjects come through a little louder. Newborns are perfect and awe-inspiring on their own and my job is to capture that. Each of my portraits has 3 main components: light (usually side-light), composition (I LOVE negative space to capture teeny tiny these babies are) and posing (natural and curly). I also like to bring in connection with parents’ hands and of course the detail shots. As a mother I know that no matter how many hours you spend staring at your newborn the memories do fade. I want my clients to be able to look back on these images and bring back all those memories of the first couple weeks.

Nowadays there are lots of talented newborn photographers creating more natural newborn portraits. I’ve been inspired by so many of them and most of them I’ve found on Instagram. In no particular order…

Arcadian Photography
Katherine Schultz
Georgia Bourke
Anyamaria Photography
Lindsay Erickson (Tails and Wings)
Kristy Burrell
Alison Winteroth
Kristen Cook

I think when you’re handling newborns the very first thing you need to check off the list is safety. Taking a photographer-specific newborn course is imperative. Speak with a pediatrician about what vaccines you should have (for example, where I live a MMR booster was recommended this year because of recent measles outbreaks).

D750
I shoot with Nikion primes. I primarily use my 35mm for newborn only shots, 50mm for the family shots (if I have the space I’ll use my beloved 85mm) and a Nikon AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED for my macro/detail shots.

I have a studio space in my home, but photograph most of my sessions in client’s homes. I find that my clients really appreciate not having to pack up and leave their home. It makes for a much more relaxing experience for them. I always work with an assistant for my in-home sessions.

I studied photography in high school, college and post-college with a few classes at Otis College of Art and Design. I have been shooting consistently since my teenage years (starting with film and the shifting to digital). When I began doing more posed newborn work (as opposed to the lifestyle newborn and infant sessions I was doing prior to that) I found courses on Creative Live and Click Photo School really helpful. I’ve done a lot of online workshops through those two sites and have pulled little bits and pieces from various ones to fine-tune my workflow. At some point I would love to do some in-person workshops, but I just haven’t had the time yet!

Like so many photographers I started my business while also parenting full-time! It was a big learning curve and I was relentless with my research. I remember nursing my baby and reading photography business blogs at the same time. I studied photography in high school and college and never stopped shooting, so I didn’t need a lot of education when it came to technical aspects of photography. I did, however need a lot of help learning how to run a business! I switched to IPS (in-person sales) very early in my career and I think that has a lot to do with my success and sustainability.

Starting your own business – especially a profitable one! – is not easy. I think I ran into the same challenges in the beginning that lots of photographers do. The biggest mistake I made when I started was underpricing myself. We all know that creating portraits is so much more than what you do on the day of your session. It can be tempting to look around at what others are charging and copy them (or, worse, try to undercut their pricing). The best thing I did for my business (other than switching to IPS) was to properly price myself. In order to do that I really had to look at my business and account for ALL my expenses and ALL the time I devoted to a session. Even after raising my prices I was feeling overwhelmed and burnt out by the editing and retouching. While creating photographs is second nature to me, the editing and retouching was not and it was a painfully slow process. I spent a lot of unnecessary time learning photoshop and still wasn’t very good at retouching. Once I outsourced my editing and retouching I was much happier. It also allowed me to level up my customer service because I had much more time to look after each client!

My approach to photography is very customized and high-touch. I want to help my clients get the images that they really want (they’ll be living with them for the next 50 years, not me!) and make sure they have a tangible way to enjoy them. Every one of my newborn sessions starts with a phone consultation so that I can walk my clients through the process and ask some questions to make sure I’m delivering the images they are most excited about. For clients planning to purchase artwork I do an in-home consultation prior to the session and bring samples of all the gorgeous products they can choose from. For my newborn clients especially I make sure that the session is not a source of stress. That means I provide help with wardrobe and detailed prep information before the session. During my in-home sessions I work with an assistant so that parents can relax for most of the time I’m there. It can be a nice break for them! Here is the information I provide on my site for what to expect:
The Comforts of Home
The days after baby is born are like no other. We know what those days (and nights) feel like, and we want to help you stay in your “baby bubble” as long as possible. That’s why we bring our complete newborn set-up to you. We’ll photograph your baby in the comfort of your own home so that you can concentrate on what’s important – taking care of baby and yourself.

No-Stress Sessions
Your session is thoughtfully planned and designed to be an enjoyable and stress-free experience. In fact, our clients usually tell us that the session was a lovely break for them!

We give you all the help you need to prepare yourself and baby for our time together and ensure beautiful images.

We follow your baby’s lead when posing and make her safety and comfort our top priorities. We follow baby’s rhythm and never impose a time-limit on your session.

Unparalleled Product
We believe wholeheartedly in the power of print and the treasure of a family heirloom and provide a carefully curated line of exceptional artwork for your home.

Our offerings include heirloom albums, framed fine art prints, fine art canvases, matted print collections and birth announcements.

We also offer inclusive digital sessions.

Please inquire for full product & pricing details.

Peace of Mind
Your baby’s comfort and safety are our first priority. We follow your baby’s lead when posing and make sure that your newborn is always in a safe and comfortable position.

Ariel is up to date on all vaccines, including Tdap (Whooping Cough), Flu & MMR.

Ariel is a member of the NAPCP, PPA, and is certified in Newborn Safety with the APNPI.

Ariel Cannon Photography is a fully licensed and insured business.