Find the Best Photographers in Gulfport

Grayland Fredericks Jr. never planned on a photography career — he has described his start in the business, back in December 2013, as unexpected — but Grayfish Photography has since grown into a Gulf Coast studio based in Pass Christian covering weddings, maternity, newborn, headshots, and event work. That range means the studio can photograph a couple’s engagement one weekend and a two-week-old baby the next, and Grayland has built a reputation locally for being easy to reach and responsive to scheduling requests, something reflected in a strong run of five-star reviews from Mississippi Gulf Coast clients. Maternity and newborn sessions sit alongside senior portraits and family bookings as a core part of the studio’s regular work, rather than an occasional add-on service. Grayfish Photography serves families throughout the Gulfport, Biloxi, and Pass Christian area, with clients traveling from around the coast for sessions. The studio’s approach favors natural interaction over stiff posing, aiming for images that reflect how a family actually behaves together rather than a formal arrangement. For Gulfport parents specifically, having a nearby, established studio that treats newborn photography as a standing specialty — not a one-off request — gives them a dependable local option with a long track record in the wider Gulf Coast market. 

Candace Riser Photography sits in Long Beach, directly adjacent to Gulfport, making the city one of the closest and most natural parts of her Mississippi Gulf Coast service area. She describes her own approach simply — a mom helping other moms hold onto memories — and specializes specifically in newborn and family lifestyle photography rather than a broad, generalist portrait catalog. As a mother of two, she talks about wanting to freeze fleeting moments before they pass, which shapes sessions toward documentary-style images of a family’s actual current season of life rather than heavily staged, prop-driven newborn portraits. She has spent the last several years building this practice specifically across the Gulf Coast, giving Gulfport parents a photographer whose stated specialty is newborns rather than someone who added newborn sessions onto an existing wedding or events business. For Gulfport families who want a newborn photographer working from lived parental experience rather than a purely commercial studio background, Candace Riser Photography offers that direct, parent-to-parent perspective. 

Kristen Knight Photography, based in Ocean Springs, extends its lifestyle newborn practice west along the coast into Gulfport, backed by press features in South Mississippi Living Magazine, Gulf Coast Woman Magazine, and a past collaboration with Ulta Beauty. Newborn sessions are booked for the 7-10 day window after birth when babies tend to sleep most soundly, run up to ninety minutes, and take place in the client’s home by default — though the studio can still work with families outside that ideal window if needed. The aesthetic across her newborn, maternity, family, and senior work is consistently light, airy, and true-to-color, aimed at images that hold up as wall art for years rather than a trendy, heavily filtered look. Booking follows a clear process — an initial inquiry, a follow-up to confirm package and date, then an e-signed contract with a 50% retainer — and turnaround on edited galleries runs about a week. For Gulfport families comparing newborn photographers along the coast, Kristen Knight Photography brings documented magazine and brand press to the table alongside the portfolio itself. 

Julia Pearl Photography works out of neighboring Biloxi and covers Gulfport as part of a Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast practice built around lifestyle newborns, maternity, families, engagements, and Fresh 48 hospital sessions. The Fresh 48 option — a $250 session where the photographer comes to the hospital within a day or two of birth — is offered alongside a $350 in-home newborn session, giving Gulfport families the choice of documenting a baby’s very first hours or the quieter settling-in period once home. In-home sessions keep newborns in a familiar setting during the first exhausting weeks rather than requiring a studio visit, and the overall look across her portfolio favors natural, lifestyle-style images over heavily staged, prop-driven setups. Because her practice already spans engagements and maternity work in addition to newborns, many clients end up working with her across several stages of starting a family rather than booking a single isolated session. For Gulfport parents deciding between a hospital session and an at-home session, Julia Pearl Photography is one of the few local studios offering both formats side by side. 

Raising Roots Photography, run by Gulfport photographer AK Broome, builds its newborn work around two closely timed offerings: a Fresh 48 session done in the hospital or birth center within the first two days of life, and a slower, in-home lifestyle newborn session in the weeks that follow. Both are documentary in style — unposed, baby-led, and focused on real, unscripted connection rather than studio setups with wraps and props. A background in dance and choreography shows up in the way sessions are paced and framed, with attention to natural movement and quiet, in-between moments rather than stiff, formal portraits. Packages range from a single 45-minute hospital visit to a combined ‘Homecoming’ package that pairs a Fresh 48 session with a follow-up lifestyle newborn visit at home, giving Gulf Coast families a way to document the entire arc from birth to the first few weeks. Clients consistently note how relaxed and present she is during sessions, and her business maintains a 100% recommendation rate from reviewers. For Gulfport-area parents who want the hospital-to-home newborn story told in one continuous, documentary style rather than a single posed sitting, Raising Roots Photography is a well-reviewed local option. 

Megan Fleming is based in Picayune but explicitly lists Gulfport among the cities she regularly serves, alongside Hattiesburg, Slidell, and New Orleans — a wide Gulf Coast radius built around driving to families rather than requiring them to come to her. Newborn sessions are the core of her business rather than a side offering, built around a simple operating principle: the baby sets the pace of the session, not a fixed schedule. That means built-in pauses for feeding, soothing, and diaper changes rather than a rigid shot list, in a warm, temperature-controlled space meant to keep a days-old baby settled. Her online reputation backs up the approach — a 5.0 rating across fifteen reviews, with parents specifically noting how unrushed the experience felt compared to a typical studio visit. Rather than chasing current prop trends, she sticks to classic, simple poses meant to hold up in a nursery frame for years rather than look dated after a season or two. For Gulfport parents willing to have a Picayune-based photographer travel to them, or to make the drive themselves, the newborn-specific focus and the unhurried pacing are the main draws over a generalist portrait studio. 

Scarletfish Studios is based out of Ocean Springs, but owner Christa Waller’s reach extends across the Gulf Coast far enough to include Gulfport as one of her regularly listed service areas alongside Biloxi. Rather than a single go-to newborn look, the studio runs a full-service portrait operation — maternity, newborn, children, seniors, boudoir, bridal, and pet photography all under one roof — inside a dedicated 2,000-square-foot studio built for portrait work, plus a two-acre outdoor estate for families who’d rather skip the indoor backdrop. Newborn sessions lean toward a styled, prop-heavy aesthetic: soft wraps, floral setups, and heirloom-style posing rather than a bare, natural-light approach. Waller has been in business since 2009, which by the newborn-photography timeline is long enough to have built a repeatable system for working around a baby’s unpredictable arrival date and rescheduling sessions on short notice without losing the sleepy-baby window. For Gulfport families who’d rather drive to an established studio in Ocean Springs than book with someone newer and untested locally, that track record is the trade-off worth knowing about upfront. 

For Gulfport families, Kayla Hunter Photography offers newborn sessions built around patience rather than a rigid shot list. She works one baby at a time in a home studio equipped with soft wraps, knitted layers, and a stock of handmade props in gentle, neutral tones, choosing calm over an overly styled setup. Her service area stretches along the coast to D’Iberville, Ocean Springs, and Biloxi, but Gulfport sits squarely within her regular coverage. Sessions typically fall in the newborn’s first one to two weeks, when infants sleep more heavily and settle into pose changes with less fuss, though she works around whatever state the baby happens to be in that day. New parents reach her by email first, a step she uses to walk through what to expect, from feeding breaks to how long a typical appointment runs. The finished galleries lean toward a soft, muted palette meant to age well on a nursery wall rather than chase a current trend. It’s a straightforward, low-pressure option for Gulfport parents wanting newborn portraits without a big production. 

Kristal Beachy runs her newborn photography business out of Turkey Creek, just north of Gulfport, and frames her work around the small physical details of a baby’s earliest days – tiny fingers, tiny feet, the specific curve of a newborn smile. Her portfolio includes both classic studio poses, like a newborn wrapped in a cream fabric with a matching floral tieback resting in a father’s arms, and more relaxed family-inclusive shots that bring parents directly into the frame rather than keeping the baby as a solo subject. She markets her service area broadly across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, listing Gulfport, Biloxi, Long Beach, Pass Christian, and Ocean Springs by name as towns she regularly serves. That reach across several small coastal communities, rather than a single city, reflects how spread out the Gulf Coast newborn photography market is geographically. Beachy’s site presents her as a family photographer first, with newborn portraits functioning as one entry point into a longer relationship that can extend into maternity, milestone, and family sessions as a client’s children grow. 

Little Sunshine Photography works out of Gulfport, describing the first days with a newborn as a period where time both slows down and speeds up all at once. The studio’s approach centers on making parents feel held and unhurried during a session rather than rushing through a fixed list of poses, with client feedback specifically noting how gentle the photographer was with a newborn and how at ease the family felt throughout. Sessions cover maternity, newborn, baby, and family portraits, giving Gulf Coast clients a single photographer to work with across several stages of a growing family. The studio’s newborn galleries favor soft, timeless imagery – swaddled babies in neutral wraps, quiet close-up details of tiny features – over bright, heavily saturated color treatments. Beyond the core Gulfport market, the business markets itself broadly as a Mississippi Gulf Coast newborn and maternity photographer, positioning it to serve families throughout Harrison County rather than a single neighborhood. The studio maintains an active online booking and inquiry process for families planning ahead during pregnancy. 

James Edward Bates brings a background most wedding photographers on the Gulf Coast do not have: he spent years as a photojournalist before turning to wedding and portrait work, and he was part of the Sun Herald newsroom team awarded a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. He began his photography career in 1995, was inducted into the University of Southern Mississippi’s Photojournalism Hall of Fame in 2011, and has had his work published in Rolling Stone, People, TIME, Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, with exhibitions as far as the Visa pour l’Image festival in Perpignan, France. That documentary instinct, watching for the real, unscripted moment rather than posing for one, carries directly into how he approaches weddings from his Gulfport studio, where he now also brings on associate photographers and assistants for larger events. He describes his purpose plainly: he believes documenting the people and moments in our lives is essential, since those are exactly the memories otherwise most likely to fade. While his listed wedding review count on WeddingWire is thin, his career credentials and decades of Gulf Coast press and portrait work are unusually well-documented for the region, making him a distinctive option for Gulfport couples who want a genuinely photojournalistic eye at their wedding. 

Greg Lawrence launched itsGMB, a name that’s become simply how Gulf Coast couples refer to the studio, back in 2004, and the Long Beach-based team now has more than two decades of wedding photography behind them. What differentiates itsGMB from most single-photographer studios in the area is the all-in-one model: photography, cinematic videography, lighting, and DJ services are all handled by the same company, which means couples can eliminate several separate vendor bookings and the coordination headaches that come with them. Packages range from four to eight hours of coverage, with 150 to 600 final edited images depending on the tier selected, and the team has documented weddings well beyond Mississippi, extending into Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and Florida. Two decades in the business means Greg’s team has seen essentially every way a Gulf Coast wedding day can go sideways, sudden rain, delayed ceremonies, overbooked venues, and built contingency habits around it. All-in-one packages start at $1,200, an accessible entry point for couples trying to consolidate their vendor budget without giving up quality. Reviews describe the studio as ‘100% Recommended,’ and their association with The Knot’s vendor network adds another layer of accountability. For a Gulfport wedding where simplifying vendor logistics matters as much as image quality, itsGMB is built for exactly that. 

Annie Elise Photography operates directly out of Gulfport, and the studio’s approach centers on relationship first, camera second; the goal, in her own words, is to become a friend to each couple rather than just the vendor documenting their day. Her galleries favor timeless, organic compositions over heavily trended editing, and her recent portfolio spans venues from Oak Crest Mansion Inn to destination weddings well outside Mississippi, showing a photographer comfortable adapting to unfamiliar locations on short notice. Every wedding package includes a complimentary engagement session, giving couples a chance to get comfortable in front of her camera before the wedding day itself, plus the option to add a second photographer for larger ceremonies. Her online gallery delivery turns around within 30 days, faster than many competitors in the region, and clients get full access to prints and albums afterward. Feedback on WeddingWire runs a perfect 5.0 across her reviews, with couples frequently citing her attentiveness to small details most vendors miss, a grandmother’s handkerchief, a groom’s nervous half-smile before the ceremony. She’s also been featured in regional publications including Southern Bride and Gulf Coast Wedding. For couples marrying in or around Gulfport who want a locally based photographer rather than someone driving in from out of town, Annie Elise is a genuinely local option. 

Shannon Lutkins has spent 13 years photographing weddings from her Biloxi studio, building a reputation strong enough to earn her the title of South Mississippi’s Favorite Photographer in back-to-back years. Her coverage area runs along the coast from Biloxi through Gulfport, and her portfolio reflects the range of settings that come with that territory: intimate beach elopements at sunrise, formal ballroom receptions, and everything shot beneath the region’s signature moss-draped oaks. What stands out in her work is versatility; rather than forcing every wedding into one aesthetic, she adapts her approach to match the couple’s venue and vision, whether that calls for soft documentary candids or more structured portrait sessions. Reviewers consistently mention her professionalism and the quality of her final galleries, and her tenure in the local market means she has photographed weddings at most of the coast’s major venues more than once. Shannon also offers portrait and headshot sessions outside of wedding season, which keeps her skills sharp across different lighting conditions and subjects year-round. For a Gulfport couple who wants a photographer already fluent in the area’s best golden-hour spots and backup indoor locations for Gulf Coast weather surprises, Shannon Lutkins brings over a decade of hands-on local experience to the table. 

Allyson Norton has been photographing weddings from her home base near Gulfport since 2016, and she deliberately caps the number of weddings she books each year rather than maximizing volume, a choice that shows in how much attention each couple’s gallery receives during editing. Her average couple invests around $3,700 for wedding-day coverage, or roughly $6,000 when photo and video are booked together, and her portfolio includes work from destination venues like The Wharf in Gulf Shores alongside plenty of local South Mississippi ceremonies. Norton’s style blends romantic, softly lit portraits with candid reception coverage, aiming to catch the in-between moments, a father’s reaction during the first look, a grandmother wiping her eyes during vows, rather than only the posed highlights. She’s built a loyal following over her nearly decade-long career, reflected in a perfect 5.0 rating across her WeddingWire reviews. Couples describe her as easy to be around on a day that’s otherwise stressful, which matters for anyone uncomfortable in front of a camera. Because she limits her annual bookings, Gulfport couples planning further out tend to have better luck securing a date with her than those booking last-minute. For a South Mississippi wedding with a timeless, editorial feel, Allyson Norton remains one of the region’s most requested names. 

Jessica Lumpkin runs Grace Photography out of Bay St. Louis, a short drive from Gulfport along the coast, and her portfolio leans into the soft, sun-drenched light that Gulf Coast weddings are known for. Her online reviews single out her demeanor as much as her images; one wedding planner described working with her as simply ‘a dream,’ a comment that shows up often enough in feedback to seem like a pattern rather than a fluke. Jessica photographs weddings from Mississippi across into Louisiana, giving her firsthand familiarity with a wide range of coastal venues, from historic Bay St. Louis properties to beachfront ceremony sites nearer Gulfport itself. Her editing style favors warm, true color over heavy filters, letting the Gulf Coast’s natural palette of moss-draped oaks, weathered wood, and open water do most of the visual work. WeddingWire reviewers rate her a full 5.0 across 13 reviews, and couples frequently mention her calm presence during ceremony prep, when nerves tend to run highest. Beyond full wedding-day coverage, Jessica also shoots engagement sessions that double as a trial run for how a couple photographs together before the big day. For Gulfport couples drawn to a documentary feel without sacrificing polish, Grace Photography is a strong regional option. 

Ted and Heather make up Storyhouse Photography Co., a Hattiesburg-based photo and film duo with more than 15 years in the industry who travel the Southern Mississippi coastline regularly for weddings, including plenty in Gulfport and Biloxi. The studio was formerly known as Heritage Photography and Film before rebranding, but the husband-and-wife team behind it hasn’t changed. Ted photographs with an eye toward avoiding overly trendy techniques that date quickly, aiming instead for images couples will still love decades from now, while Heather’s strength lies in color and composition, giving the final galleries a cohesive, filmic look rather than a mix of disconnected styles. Because they offer both photography and videography under one roof, couples can book a single team for both mediums instead of coordinating two separate vendors on the wedding day. Their package list includes engagement sessions, second-shooter add-ons, wedding albums, and full digital delivery with online proofing galleries. Reviews on WeddingWire give the studio a perfect 5.0 rating across 22 reviews, with couples frequently praising how relaxed the pair kept the day’s schedule. Storyhouse markets itself specifically to coastal Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Louisiana couples, and the drive from Hattiesburg to Gulfport is one they make often enough that beach-ceremony lighting and tide schedules are second nature to them. 

Nina Tank named her studio Tank Goodness Photo, and it’s been capturing Gulf Coast weddings since 2006, two decades of experience that shows in how unbothered she seems by chaotic timelines, rowdy reception crowds, or last-minute weather changes. Nina and her husband work as a team, blending photojournalistic candids with more traditional posed portraits so couples end up with both an artful gallery and the classic family-formal shots grandparents actually want printed. Though she’s originally from Austin, Texas, Nina has built a genuine second home base on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and her portfolio is full of Gulfport, Biloxi, and Ocean Springs venues she now knows by heart. Every wedding package includes a second shooter, high-resolution digital files, and full printing rights, a combination that’s helped the studio collect 30 five-star reviews on WeddingWire. Clients often mention her calm, unhurried presence on the wedding day itself; she directs group photos efficiently without making anyone feel rushed. Nina also shoots families, maternity, and seniors, but weddings remain the core of her business, and her long tenure means she’s photographed second-generation couples whose parents she shot years earlier. For Gulfport brides who want an editorial eye paired with old-fashioned reliability, Tank Goodness Photo delivers both. 

Jen and Chuck have run their Ocean Springs studio together since 2014, splitting duties as a true two-person team rather than a lead photographer with hired help. That distinction matters on a wedding day: one of them is always positioned for the wide shot while the other closes in on details, so couples get a fuller record of the day without needing to pay extra for a second shooter. Their coverage area stretches across the Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida Gulf Coast, and Gulfport couples are well within their regular service radius. Beyond weddings, the pair also shoots portraits, engagements, and boudoir sessions, which shows in the confidence they bring to posing nervous couples during first-look photos. Local recognition has followed: Jen & Chuck were named among the leading wedding photographers in the Pascagoula quality-business rankings, and their online reviews consistently mention responsiveness, with couples noting they reply to emails and texts quickly, even in the thick of wedding season. Packages start at $1,950 and scale up with hours and albums. After a decade photographing Gulf Coast ceremonies, from small courthouse elopements to full Southern church weddings, Jen & Chuck have developed a shorthand with local venues and vendors that keeps wedding-day logistics running smoothly. 

Behind the Biloxi studio of Kayce Stork Photography & Films is a husband-and-wife team, Kayce Stork-Clary and Trevor, who have spent more than a decade photographing weddings up and down the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama Gulf Coast. What sets this duo apart is the dual offering: full wedding-day photography paired with cinematic film coverage, shot by the same team who already knows the couple’s story from the engagement session forward. Kayce’s editing style favors warm, true-to-life color and unposed connection over stiff formality, and her portfolio is full of barefoot beach ceremonies, live-oak backdrops, and reception dance floors caught mid-laugh. Couples repeatedly mention how at ease she made them feel in front of the camera, even ones who swore they hated having their picture taken. With more than 40 five-star reviews on WeddingWire, the studio has built its reputation almost entirely on word of mouth from Gulfport-area brides who found her through a friend’s wedding album. Trevor’s video work adds a second layer most single-shooter studios can’t match, letting couples relive the vows in motion, not just in stills. For a Gulfport wedding that leans coastal and unfussy, Kayce Stork Photography brings both patience and a decade of practiced instinct for where the real moments happen.