Find the Best Photographers in Des Moines

A $495 flat-fee package with 50 to 60 edited images sets Morgan Moon’s newborn photography apart from studios that price by add-on, and every session happens inside the family’s own home rather than a rented studio space. Serving the greater Des Moines and Ankeny area, Moon’s lifestyle newborn work focuses on documenting a family already snuggled up with their baby — a parent holding the newborn on the couch, a sibling peeking into the bassinet, quiet moments that would otherwise go unphotographed in the blur of the first weeks home. That in-home format means no travel is required for families adjusting to a new baby, and it also means the resulting gallery reflects the family’s actual nursery and living space rather than a generic backdrop. Moon built her business primarily around wedding photography, and her newborn sessions carry over the same documentary instinct for finding genuine moments rather than directing a series of poses. A $50 deposit secures the booking, with the balance due before or at the session. Because in-home lifestyle sessions depend on natural light and the specific layout of a family’s home, Moon typically discusses room choice and timing with clients ahead of the appointment to make sure the space works well for photography.

 

Kate Van Dorn’s newborn galleries read like a family photo album rather than a portrait sitting — images labeled with the baby’s actual name, such as Archie, Charlie, or Briar, rather than generic stock-style poses, hint at how personally she approaches each session. Based in the Des Moines area, Van Dorn describes her overall work as “candid and emotional imagery” delivered with “thoughtful intention,” and that documentary sensibility carries over into her newborn photography alongside her maternity, milestone, and family portrait services. Rather than a single formula applied to every baby, her newborn sessions appear to flex between soft posed close-ups and more natural, in-the-moment frames of a baby with parents or siblings nearby. Client testimonials on her site consistently reference quick turnaround times and an easy, low-pressure experience, which matters during a newborn session when a fussy baby or an overwhelmed new parent can throw off a rigid shot list. Van Dorn works directly with families to build out a session that fits their newborn’s temperament rather than forcing a fixed sequence of poses, and scheduling happens through her website or social media. For Des Moines-area parents who want genuine, candid-feeling newborn images over a heavily staged studio look, her portfolio reflects that preference clearly.

 

Ten acres of rural land in Madrid, Iowa give Iris & Willow Photography a studio setting most Des Moines-metro newborn photographers can’t match, and owner Amy Mulford has used that space to build a business recognized with a Prime Badge Photographer of the Year honor. Newborn sessions here range from classic posed portraits to more candid home-style shoots, and the studio has even photographed newborn sessions in hospital operating rooms for families who want documentation before they’ve even left the delivery unit. One distinctive offering: free “rainbow baby” sessions for families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss, a policy that reflects a level of sensitivity not every studio builds into its pricing. The Madrid studio location means a short drive for most Des Moines-area families, and Mulford also mentors other photographers through workshops run out of the same property. Portfolio images show soft, warmly lit newborn portraits with an emphasis on natural skin tones over heavily processed or overly staged setups. Families reach the studio through Instagram or the website’s contact page, and scheduling for newborn sessions is coordinated around each baby’s actual due date rather than a fixed calendar slot.

 

Waukee-based photographer Mandy Stephenson runs April + August Photography with a client base spread across Clive, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Adel, and Grimes, and her site lists lifestyle newborn photography as a named specialty alongside family, child, and pet portraiture. The studio was named one of the “8 Best Lifestyle Photographers in Des Moines” by Peerspace, a nod to the natural, unposed style that runs through her newborn galleries — babies photographed in a parent’s arms or resting in a bassinet rather than arranged into the tightly wrapped, curled poses common in studio newborn work. That lifestyle focus means sessions typically happen in a family’s home or a softly lit indoor space rather than a studio backdrop, letting the newborn’s actual nursery or living room become part of the images. Stephenson’s broader portfolio of family and pet photography means many of her newborn clients continue working with her for milestone and family sessions as the baby grows, giving families continuity in style across multiple years of photos. Because her service area spans several western Des Moines suburbs, she’s a practical option for families based outside the city core who still want a photographer familiar with the wider metro. Inquiries and portfolio browsing happen through her website and active Facebook and Instagram pages.

 

Shalyn Donofro’s site describes her work simply as documenting “bellies, birth, and babes,” and newborn photography sits at the center of that range alongside dedicated birth and maternity services — a three-part focus rather than a newborn add-on tacked onto family portraiture. Based in Des Moines, Donofro has built a specialty around the raw, unposed side of a baby’s earliest days, and her blog includes write-ups of in-home newborn sessions that lean toward natural documentation over heavily styled studio setups. That birth-photography background shapes her newborn approach too: rather than starting from a blank studio backdrop, she treats the newborn session as a continuation of the story that begins in the delivery room, which is part of why some of her clients book birth and newborn services together. Families interested in a more editorial, less-posed newborn gallery — soft natural light, real textures, minimal props — tend to gravitate toward her portfolio over a heavily staged studio look. Inquiries go through her website’s contact page, and as a birth photographer, she’s accustomed to being reachable on short notice once labor begins, a habit that also makes her responsive when a newborn session needs to be scheduled quickly after delivery.

 

Over a decade of photographing Central Iowa’s newest residents has given Michelle Lovell a client list that includes plenty of repeat families booking their second or third baby’s newborn session. Working out of Des Moines and Ames, Lovell built her business around a promise of a “stress-free and fun” sitting, which in practice means shorter posed segments broken up by pauses to feed, soothe, or simply let a fussy newborn settle before continuing. Her galleries mix classic wrapped newborn portraits with more relaxed, close-up detail shots — tiny hands, eyelashes, the folds of a swaddle — rather than relying on one signature pose repeated across every client. Newborn sessions are one piece of a broader portrait practice that also includes maternity, cake smash, and family photography, so many of Lovell’s newborn clients first found her through an earlier maternity booking. She works directly with families on scheduling once a due date is confirmed, since infant newborn sessions have a narrow window compared to milestone or family shoots. Clients reach her through her website’s contact form or Instagram, and appointments are generally scheduled at her studio setup rather than in clients’ homes.

 

Melissa Gorman lists “Maternity/Newborn” as a single, dedicated line item in her studio’s service menu, and her portfolio images from recent sessions show a mix of soft posed newborn portraits alongside the maternity work that led many of her clients to book a follow-up newborn appointment. Gorman House Photography has held a five-star rating across 20 client reviews, a track record built largely on word-of-mouth referrals from maternity clients who return once the baby arrives. The studio’s newborn approach favors simple, warm setups over elaborate prop-heavy scenes, letting the baby’s features stay the focal point of each frame. Melissa works directly with families to coordinate timing so that a maternity session earlier in the pregnancy and a newborn session shortly after delivery can be booked as a package, though standalone newborn sessions are available as well. Clients reach the studio directly by phone, and scheduling conversations typically start with a due date so the newborn window can be reserved before delivery. For Des Moines-area families who want continuity between their maternity and newborn galleries, working with the same photographer for both sessions is one of the studio’s most requested features, since it keeps the visual style consistent from bump to baby.

 

Sisters Amy and Lindsey have run Sweet Little You Photography since 2012, growing it into a two-location studio with home bases in Urbandale and Cedar Falls that together serve families across the Des Moines metro. Newborn photography sits alongside Fresh 48, birth, and milestone work as one of six clearly listed session categories on their site, and their approach leans into what they call “the quiet magic of new life” — brand-new eyelashes, gummy grins, and the small physical details that fade within the first couple of weeks. With 14 years in business and a 4.9-star rating across client reviews, the sisters have built a studio large enough to run two full-time locations while keeping the same posed, soft-light newborn style across both. Sessions are typically booked before delivery, since infant sleepiness and flexibility peak in the earliest days of life, and both studios can accommodate a session on short notice once a baby arrives. Beyond newborn portraits, the sisters also offer Birth and Fresh 48 photography for families who want documentation starting in the hospital, giving Des Moines-area parents a single studio that can cover the full arc from delivery room to nursery portrait.

 

At 500 E. Locust in downtown Des Moines, Anna Jones runs a documentary-style newborn practice built around one idea: babies don’t need to be arranged, they need to be observed. Her in-home newborn sessions skip the wrapped-and-posed formula in favor of following a family’s actual first days home, from a diaper change on the nursery floor to an older sibling meeting the baby on the couch. Jones describes the approach as centered on “connection, movement, and the beautifully chaotic rhythm of life with a new baby,” and her portfolio backs that up with unstaged, natural-light frames rather than studio backdrops. Because the sessions happen at the family’s own house, there’s no travel required in the fragile first weeks, and the resulting images read more like a visual journal than a formal portrait sitting. With over 40 five-star reviews and a photography style that carries over from her editorial wedding and family work, Jones brings a documentary photojournalist’s eye to newborn sessions rather than treating them as a separate, more clinical service. Families who want authentic, in-the-moment newborn images rather than the classic posed-and-wrapped look tend to be her best fit. Sessions are booked directly through her website or by phone, and she serves families throughout the greater Des Moines area.

 

Since 2016, Ivory House Photography has built a five-star reputation across the Des Moines metro, and its 311 client reviews make it one of the most-reviewed newborn photography studios in central Iowa. Newborn sessions are listed as a dedicated service under the studio’s family portrait offerings, distinct from a passing add-on, and images like the Emma Grace Brannen newborn set show the studio’s preference for soft, warm-toned posed portraits over harsh studio lighting. Sessions are typically scheduled within the first two weeks of a baby’s life, when infants sleep more soundly and can be guided into the classic curled, cocooned poses parents associate with newborn portraiture. The team works with a rotating set of wraps, hats, and baskets so that no two families leave with an identical gallery. Parents and siblings are welcomed into a portion of every session, giving families a mix of solo baby portraits and posed family frames without needing to book two separate appointments. Communication before the shoot covers what to bring, how to prepare an older sibling for a calm session, and how soon a due-date should trigger a booking inquiry, since newborn slots fill around each family’s specific delivery window rather than a fixed calendar date. With a decade in business, Ivory House has photographed multiple siblings from the same Des Moines-area families, a repeat-client pattern reviewers frequently mention.

 

Kay Eileen Photography is run by Kayla, who goes by KP, a Midwest-based photographer who specializes specifically in elopements and destination weddings alongside more traditional Des Moines ceremonies. That elopement focus is a real specialty rather than an afterthought — couples planning smaller, more intimate ceremonies get a photographer who’s used to working without the infrastructure of a full wedding, like formal timelines or bridal parties, and instead focuses on capturing a couple navigating a new location together. Her studio takes on weddings well beyond Iowa’s borders, which fits with her own history of relocating for periods of time rather than staying rooted in one home base year-round. For Des Moines couples who want a more traditional wedding day covered, she’s equally comfortable shooting a standard ceremony and reception, but her portfolio’s strongest thread is intimate, adventure-style elopement photography for couples who’d rather skip a large guest list altogether. She can be reached directly by phone for booking questions. 

Alexis, the photographer behind AKaye Photography, started shooting seven years ago and has built her Des Moines-area studio around a natural, unforced style — she leans away from heavily directed posing in favor of letting genuine emotion and joy come through as it happens. Her wedding packages are structured to cover the full arc of the relationship rather than just the wedding day itself: couples can book engagement sessions and save-the-date photography with her before the wedding, then add a second photographer for full-day coverage if they want more angles captured during the ceremony and reception. After the wedding, she offers albums and prints in addition to digital image delivery, which some Des Moines studios leave out in favor of digital-only packages. Based out of the Pleasant Hill area just outside Des Moines, she’s built a local reputation for being easy to communicate with throughout the planning process, something reflected across reviews that consistently mention professionalism and responsiveness rather than just the final images. Her portfolio spans a range of Iowa venues, from greenhouse weddings to more traditional settings. 

Corah B Photography covers a wider range than most Des Moines wedding studios, splitting time between wedding coverage, bridal boudoir sessions, and family portraits. That combination isn’t accidental — many of her wedding clients book a boudoir session first, as a gift for a partner or simply as a confidence-building experience before the big day, and that comfort carries over into how relaxed couples appear in their wedding galleries. Full wedding coverage typically results in a large online gallery, often running into the hundreds of images, delivered alongside a print shop so families can order physical prints and albums directly rather than sourcing them elsewhere. Her site also maintains active local resources, including guides to Des Moines wedding venues and vendors, suggesting a photographer who is genuinely embedded in the local wedding industry rather than treating Des Moines as just one market among many. For couples who want a single photographer they can also book for engagement, boudoir, or family sessions before and after the wedding, Corah B offers that continuity in one studio. 

Laura Nichole has spent more than nine years photographing couples in and around the Des Moines metro, working out of neighboring Johnston, Iowa. Her galleries are built around a mix of natural light, bold color choices, and candid framing — she describes her own approach as capturing years worth of romance in a single day, which shows up in how much attention she gives to small interactions between partners rather than only the big scripted moments like the first kiss or the bouquet toss. While most of her work stays close to home in central Iowa, she’s also open to destination weddings and regularly travels out of state for couples who want her specific style somewhere farther away, whether that’s a coastal ceremony or a mountain elopement. That willingness to travel, paired with nearly a decade of experience shooting Iowa’s range of venues — from historic downtown spaces to rural barn weddings — makes her a flexible option for couples who aren’t necessarily getting married within city limits. Her portfolio and booking information are available directly through her studio site, where she also shares planning content aimed at Iowa couples specifically. 

Colby Campbell didn’t start out as a photographer. He was working in residence life at the University of Illinois-Chicago when burnout and the pandemic pushed him and his wife, Jenny, to move back to Des Moines — and that reset is what turned photography from a side interest into a full business in 2013. That career-change perspective shows up in how he runs the studio now: every wedding package includes an engagement session and a wedding-day timeline consultation, the kind of planning support you’d expect from someone who spent years managing logistics for other people before managing them for couples. His style is candid and timeless, built around creating an environment relaxed enough that genuine laughs and unscripted tender moments happen naturally in front of the camera rather than needing to be directed. Based out of a studio on 5th Street in Des Moines, he serves the wider Midwest and has traveled for weddings across all 50 states, with 50 miles of travel included in every package. Colby also builds a giving-back element into the business, donating a portion of proceeds from every wedding to OneIowa, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of LGBTQ+ Iowans — a detail that resonates with couples looking for a vendor whose values line up with their own. 

Rusted Rose Studios is run by Riley, a photographer whose background actually started outside of weddings entirely — sports and lifestyle photography — before couples around Iowa started booking the same eye for movement and unscripted moments for their wedding days. That crossover matters more than it might sound: shooting sports trains a photographer to anticipate action and fire at exactly the right split second rather than waiting for a pose, and that instinct carries over well into capturing a first look, a recessional, or a dance floor moment that only happens once. Wedding galleries in the Rusted Rose Studios portfolio, including full-day coverage like the Kathy and Kel wedding, show a preference for genuine reactions over stiff, arranged group shots. The studio also shoots engagement sessions ahead of the wedding day, giving couples a chance to get comfortable in front of the camera before the day itself. For couples who want a photographer with range beyond just weddings — someone equally comfortable on a sideline as at an altar — Rusted Rose Studios is a distinct option in the Des Moines-area market. 

Whitney Long picked up a camera in 2016 and, by 2018, had turned it into a full wedding photography and videography business based in Des Moines. That dual skill set is fairly rare in the local market — most studios specialize in one or the other — and it lets couples book a single vendor who understands how to coordinate a photographer and videographer working the same room without either one getting in the other’s shot. Her pricing structure includes a modest travel fee of $0.60 per mile beyond a 60-mile round trip, which signals she’s genuinely willing to shoot weddings well outside the Des Moines metro rather than restricting herself to a tight radius. As a younger photographer who came up shooting during a period when candid, social-forward wedding content became the norm, her galleries tend to favor movement and real interaction over stiff formal lineups, though she still delivers the traditional family portrait shots most couples want for keepsakes. Couples who want both stills and a wedding film from the same creative eye are the clearest fit for her studio. 

Amelia Renee shot her first wedding in 2011, and fifteen years later that early experience has turned into a portfolio of more than 200 weddings spread across seven states — Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Minnesota. That range means she’s photographed everything from small backyard ceremonies to full-scale destination weddings, and it shows in how comfortable she is adapting to different lighting, venues, and family dynamics on short notice. Her style sits somewhere between documentary and classic portraiture: she favors natural, in-the-moment images over heavily staged setups, but still builds in time for the kind of clean, timeless couple portraits families tend to print and frame decades later. Beyond weddings, she also photographs high school seniors around the Des Moines area, work that has earned her recognition as one of the city’s award-winning photographers. Couples researching her online will find a site built around real Iowa wedding imagery — from downtown Des Moines engagement sessions to weddings at venues like Jasper Winery — rather than stock photography, which gives a fairly accurate preview of what a finished gallery will actually look like. 

Jason Thomas Crocker has quietly become one of the most experienced wedding photographers working in Des Moines, with a client list that has grown past 800 weddings from his studio on 42nd Street. That volume of work has sharpened a photojournalistic instinct — rather than directing couples through a checklist of poses, Jason tends to hang back and watch for the moment a speech gets a real laugh or a grandmother tears up during the first dance, then trusts his timing to catch it. His galleries lean bold and color-forward rather than muted or desaturated, giving finished albums an editorial quality that couples often compare to magazine spreads rather than typical wedding coverage. Because he’s shot weddings at nearly every scale and venue type in the region, from courthouse elopements to full receptions inside Des Moines museums, he’s developed a reputation among planners for staying calm and adaptable when timelines slip or weather changes plans last minute — something couples repeatedly mention feeling from him on the day itself. He works directly out of Des Moines and can be reached by phone for booking inquiries, a detail that stands out in a market where many photographers communicate only through web forms. 

Since opening its doors in 2017, Haverlee Photography has built a reputation across Des Moines for images that feel more like a memory than a photograph. Behind the camera, Haverlee splits her calendar between Iowa and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but Des Moines remains home base for a client list that now tops 150 weddings. Her approach starts long before the ceremony: she spends time getting to know each couple so that, on the wedding day itself, they’re comfortable enough to simply be themselves in front of the lens rather than performing for it. That philosophy shows up in the final galleries as genuine laughter, unguarded glances, and the small unplanned moments couples often say matter most once the day is over. Haverlee also photographs families and seniors around central Iowa, which gives her an unusually broad visual vocabulary for reading a room full of relatives and translating it into portraits that don’t feel stiff. Couples researching Des Moines wedding photographers consistently point to her warmth and communication as much as her portfolio, part of why she has become one of the most reviewed photographers in the metro.