It’s been about 15 years since I started my career as a newborn baby photographer.  People are often interested in how I got started.  They ask “did you go to school for photography?”  The short answer is “no, I had a baby.”

When I was in elementary school, the Kodak Disk camera came out.  Anyone remember it?  It was my first camera, and I loved it!  I volunteered at my church nursery every Sunday, and occasionally I would take my camera, line up the babies, and take pictures there.  I guess you could say that’s where I really got my start in baby photography.  But as I got into high school, then college, then young adulthood, I rarely thought about photography.  I didn’t even own a camera.

Fast-forward to 1998.  That’s when my first baby was born.  That re-ignited my passion for baby photography.  I was bad!  And it was expensive!  These were the days prior to digital photography, so all my newborn photographs were taken with a film camera – yes FILM!  It was expensive.  I think I burned through a thousand rolls of 35 mm film during Emma’s first year.  But I loved it.  And as I continued honing my skills, others started to notice my baby photography.

Soon I was getting calls from people in Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, asking me to photograph their newborn babies.  And my business was born!  After several years of photographing babies and families “on the side” I took the leap and quit my “real” job.  I opened a portrait studio in downtown Westfield, IN.  It was a tiny space, but it was perfect for photographing those sweet newborn babies and their families.  After that, I moved into another portrait studio in Westfield.  We considered opening a portrait studio in Carmel and Noblesville, but eventually decided that moving the photography studio to our home in Westfield was the perfect option for us.

I’m happy to say that I’ve been taking maternity, newborn, and family portraits out of my home studio in Westfield for 7 years now.  It’s been perfect.  Our home is on 4 acres and features a wooden bridge, a pond, a forest, lots of wild grasses and flowers.  It’s my favorite place in the Westfield, Carmel, Zionsville area to photography children and families.  And my indoor studio is tiny, but just perfect for all those newborn baby photography sessions.

If you live in Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, Zionsville or any where around, I would love to photography your maternity session, newborn portraits, or family.  Just call me at the studio, 317-867-3723 and we’ll get things started.

Cheers!

Leah  🙂