Find the Best Photographers in Mississippi

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. 

Andrea Jones built Grace & Gold Photography around a simple idea: the parents in front of her camera are usually exhausted, and her job is to make the session feel easy rather than one more stressful task on a long list. A self-described lifelong maker who took art classes through school and still calls herself a DIY-er, Andrea turned that creative streak into a photography business run around her own family’s schedule as a stay-at-home mom. Her portfolio includes in-home newborn sessions, in-studio setups for local families in Petal, and hospital-based Fresh 48 sessions completed within the first two days of a baby’s life — a service that requires flexibility, since babies do not arrive on a predictable timeline. She also photographs maternity sessions in the months leading up to delivery, giving many of her clients a documented arc from pregnancy through the newborn stage with the same photographer. Working across Hattiesburg, Petal, and nearby towns like Sumrall, Andrea has built a name specifically around newborn and family work rather than broader event photography. Her focus stays on the mothers as much as the babies, aiming for a relaxed, unhurried pace during sessions rather than a rigid shot list, particularly for families who are trying newborn portraits for the first time. 

Jennifer Jones has spent more than a decade photographing Mississippi families, splitting her calendar between wedding days and the quieter, more intimate work of newborn sessions. Her home base includes both an outdoor studio with landscaped grounds and an indoor space built specifically to keep newborns warm and settled, which lets her offer flexible outdoor or studio sessions depending on the season and the family’s preference. Portrait clients typically invest between $275 and $450, with every package including digital images and printing rights, and Jennifer refers clients to trusted print labs rather than handling printing herself. Her approach treats a newborn session as its own kind of storytelling — less about a formula and more about documenting a specific, fleeting stage before it passes. Jennifer’s work has been recognized by wedding and parenting-focused publications, a reflection of a portfolio that moves comfortably between the two genres. She is based in Mississippi and available to travel outside the immediate Hattiesburg area for the right session. For families who want a photographer equally comfortable with a wedding party and a two-week-old baby, Jennifer’s dual focus and established studio setup make her a dependable, experienced option in the Hattiesburg market. 

Ariel Hebert photographs newborns and expecting mothers out of a home studio in Vancleave, a few minutes north of Pascagoula, where families along the Jackson County coast have found her through word of mouth and Instagram rather than a traditional storefront. Her sessions lean toward soft, natural light and simple, uncluttered setups — swaddled newborn portraits, gentle family additions, and milestone sittings that mark a baby’s first months without over-styling the moment. Booking runs through an online scheduling page rather than a phone line, which keeps her calendar organized around a small number of sessions each week. Ariel works one-on-one with each family, walking parents through what to expect before the appointment so first-time parents in particular feel prepared rather than rushed. Her studio setup allows for both classic posed newborn images and looser lifestyle shots within the same visit, giving parents a mixed gallery rather than a single style. She has built a loyal local following among Gulf Coast parents specifically for newborn and maternity work, distinguishing her practice from the area’s many general portrait studios. For Pascagoula families who want a dedicated newborn specialist without a long drive, her Vancleave studio sits close enough to be a practical option, and her online presence makes it easy to see recent work before booking a session. 

Kristal Beachy Photography is based in Gulfport and reaches east into Pascagoula as part of a Gulf Coast newborn practice that offers both a dedicated newborn studio and natural-light, on-location sessions — a choice not every photographer on this stretch of coast provides. Maternity, newborn, children, family, and special-occasion portraiture form the core of the business, with the studio format built specifically around the temperature and lighting control newborns need, while on-location sessions suit families who’d rather be photographed somewhere personal, like home or a favorite outdoor spot in Pascagoula. Beyond newborns, the catalog extends into engagement sessions, headshots, senior portraits, pet photography, and event coverage, making repeat bookings across different life stages realistic with a single photographer. That range, combined with the choice between studio and on-location formats, gives Pascagoula families more flexibility than a single-format specialist would offer. For Pascagoula parents deciding between a controlled newborn studio session and something more personal at home, Kristal Beachy Photography offers both under one business. 

Candace Riser Photography, based in Long Beach, works across the Mississippi Gulf Coast and its surrounding area, a reach that extends east to Pascagoula families looking for a dedicated newborn and family lifestyle photographer. She describes her approach as one mom helping other moms hold onto memories, drawing directly on her own experience as a mother of two to inform how she works with new parents and their babies. Rather than a broad portrait catalog built around weddings or events, newborn and family lifestyle sessions are the specific focus, aimed at documenting a family’s actual day-to-day season of life rather than producing heavily staged, prop-driven studio portraits. She has spent the last several years building this specialty along the coast, giving Pascagoula parents access to a photographer whose primary identity is newborn work rather than someone offering it as a side service. For Pascagoula families who want a newborn photographer approaching sessions from genuine parental experience, Candace Riser Photography offers that mom-to-mom perspective from a short drive down the coast. 

Kristen Knight Photography is based in Ocean Springs, roughly fifteen minutes from Pascagoula, putting the studio’s lifestyle newborn practice within easy reach of eastern Jackson County families. Newborn sessions are timed for the 7-10 day window after birth for the soundest, easiest-to-pose sleep, run up to ninety minutes, and are held in the client’s home by default, with other locations available if requested. The studio has been featured in South Mississippi Living Magazine and Gulf Coast Woman Magazine and has worked with Ulta Beauty, giving it a level of documented press coverage that stands out among independent photographers on this stretch of coast. Across newborn, maternity, family, and senior sessions, the consistent aesthetic is light, airy, and true-to-color rather than a heavily filtered or trend-driven look. The booking process is straightforward — an initial inquiry, a follow-up call to confirm package and date, then an e-signed contract and 50% retainer — with edited galleries typically delivered within about a week. For Pascagoula families, Kristen Knight Photography offers a nearby, press-featured option for newborn sessions without needing to travel far up the coast. 

Julia Pearl Photography is based in Biloxi and works across Southern Mississippi toward Pascagoula, offering both a $350 in-home newborn session and a $250 Fresh 48 hospital session for families who want their baby’s earliest hours documented before leaving the hospital. That hospital-session option is a genuine point of difference for Pascagoula families, since it covers a window most local newborn photographers don’t reach — the first day or two after delivery, while a family is still in the hospital room. In-home sessions, by contrast, are scheduled for the following days or weeks and keep the baby in familiar surroundings rather than a studio visit during the newest, most disruptive stretch of early parenthood. Maternity and engagement sessions round out the practice, so the same photographer can realistically be booked across pregnancy, the hospital stay, and the settling-in period afterward. The visual style throughout favors natural, lifestyle-driven images over heavily staged, prop-based setups. For Pascagoula parents who want a photographer covering the full arc from hospital to home, Julia Pearl Photography offers that continuity in one practice. 

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. 

Kristal Beachy Photography, based in Gulfport, reaches Biloxi families as part of a natural-light practice that operates both on location and out of a dedicated newborn studio — giving clients a choice most single-format newborn photographers on the coast don’t offer. Maternity, newborn, children, family, and special-occasion portraiture make up the core of the business, with the newborn studio built specifically for the temperature and lighting needs of very young babies, while on-location sessions suit families who want their portraits somewhere more personal, like their own home or a favorite outdoor spot. The studio’s broader catalog also includes engagement sessions, headshots, senior portraits, pet photography, and event coverage, making it one of the more range-flexible photographers serving the Biloxi-Gulfport corridor. That range means a family can plausibly book a maternity session, a newborn studio session, and later a family or headshot session all with the same photographer as their needs change. For Biloxi parents who want the option of either a controlled newborn studio environment or a more personal on-location session, Kristal Beachy Photography offers both under one roof. 

Candace Riser Photography is based in Long Beach, a short drive from Biloxi, and is run by a photographer who describes her work plainly as being a mom helping other moms hold onto memories. As a mother of two herself, she talks about knowing firsthand how quickly babies change, which is the stated motivation behind specializing in newborn and family lifestyle photography rather than a broader, more generic portrait practice. The studio has spent the last several years photographing families across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, building a body of newborn and family work grounded in that lived, parent-to-parent understanding of the newborn stage rather than a purely technical or studio-brand approach. Sessions lean toward a lifestyle documentation style over heavily staged studio setups, aiming to freeze the specific, fleeting season of life a family is in rather than a generic baby portrait. For Biloxi parents who want a newborn photographer who approaches the work from personal experience as a fellow parent, Candace Riser Photography offers that mom-to-mom perspective directly. 

Kristen Knight Photography is based across the bay in Ocean Springs and has been featured in South Mississippi Living Magazine, Gulf Coast Woman Magazine, and by Ulta Beauty, giving the studio a level of regional press attention beyond most independent newborn photographers on the coast. Lifestyle newborn sessions are timed for the 7-10 day window after birth, when babies are typically at their sleepiest and easiest to pose, though the studio notes it can still make a session work outside that window if it’s missed. Sessions run up to ninety minutes and take place in the client’s own home by default, with other locations available on request, reflecting a light-and-airy, true-to-color aesthetic the studio applies across newborns, maternity, family, and senior work. Booking runs through a straightforward process: an initial contact form, a follow-up to lock in package, date, and location, then an e-signed contract with a 50% retainer. Turnaround is fast for the coast, with edited digital galleries typically ready within a week. For Biloxi families who want a newborn photographer with recognized editorial credentials rather than a newer, unreviewed studio, Kristen Knight Photography brings documented press coverage to back up its portfolio. 

Julia Pearl Photography is based right in Biloxi and covers a wide stretch of a family’s early milestones — families, lifestyle newborns, maternity, engagements, and Fresh 48 sessions — with newborn work priced accessibly at $350 for an in-home session. The Fresh 48 option, at $250, has the photographer come to the hospital within the first day or two after birth, documenting the very first hours of a baby’s life before the family even makes it home, which is a service far fewer local newborn photographers offer alongside standard in-home sessions. In-home newborn sessions keep the baby in a familiar setting rather than requiring a trip to a studio during the first exhausting weeks, and the emphasis throughout Julia’s portfolio is on lifestyle-style images over heavily posed, prop-based setups. Working across Southern Mississippi and the surrounding Gulf Coast area, she serves families well beyond Biloxi proper. For Biloxi parents who want the option of documenting both the hospital stay and the settling-in period at home, Julia Pearl Photography offers both ends of that timeline under one photographer. 

Emily Lofton Photography names Meridian directly as part of its service area, one stop on a route that runs from the studio’s Sumrall base through Hattiesburg, Laurel, Jackson, and Flowood before reaching the Mississippi Gulf Coast. What distinguishes the studio for traveling clients is the full styling built into every session — professional hair and makeup on the day, plus a wardrobe closet stocked with coordinating outfits sized for the whole family — so a Meridian family doesn’t need to source their own maternity gowns or newborn wraps before the session. Newborn, maternity, family, and milestone photography make up the core of the practice, and galleries are finished with an eye toward printed wall art rather than a plain digital download, including help with artwork design and installation after delivery. Because the studio already builds regional travel into its normal service area rather than treating it as a special add-on, Meridian families booking with Emily Lofton Photography are working with a studio that regularly makes the trip rather than one stretching outside its usual radius for a one-off session. 

Kristen Adkins Photography is based in Brandon and describes its own focus plainly: birth, maternity, newborn, and families. That birth-photography angle sets the studio apart from most newborn-only competitors — Kristen documents delivery-room moments in addition to the more familiar posed newborn session, giving families the option to have their birth story and their baby’s first portraits handled by the same photographer. Newborn sessions are built around real Canon camera work rather than heavily filtered or templated presets, judging by the studio’s own behind-the-scenes shots showing full-frame gear and natural light setups. Alongside birth and newborn work, the studio covers baby portraits, children’s photography, engagement shoots, family sessions — including portraits, lifestyle, and vacation-themed work — and high school senior portraits, giving it a fairly complete range for a single-photographer operation. For families in the Meridian area who want the option of documenting labor and delivery itself, not just the days afterward, Kristen Adkins Photography offers a service most newborn specialists in the region don’t provide. 

Images by Michelle LLC has operated out of Philadelphia, Mississippi, a short drive from Meridian, since 2009, building a broad portrait practice that covers baby, children’s, and family photography alongside newborn and wedding work. The studio’s own description of its favorite part of the job — watching all its little clients grow from newborn sessions through cake-smash first birthdays — points to a business built around long-term relationships with the same families rather than one-off bookings. Beyond newborns, the studio’s range extends into headshots, senior portraits, and pet photography, making it a genuine one-stop option for households that need more than a single type of session over the years. With fifteen-plus years in business, Images by Michelle has weathered the shift from film-era studio portraits to today’s lifestyle-driven newborn photography, and the studio’s active presence documents real client sessions rather than stock imagery. For families in and around Meridian who want a long-established, locally rooted photographer rather than a newer studio still building a track record, Images by Michelle LLC offers over a decade and a half of continuous local operation. 

Emily Lofton Photography is based in Sumrall and built its newborn practice around a full-service, styled experience rather than a bare portrait session — professional hair and makeup is included on the day of a maternity or family session, and the studio maintains its own wardrobe closet with coordinating outfits sized for an entire family. That level of styling extends to artwork design and installation after the gallery is delivered, so the finished product is aimed at wall art rather than just digital files. Newborn, maternity, family, and milestone photography are the core services, with a service area stretching well beyond Hattiesburg into Laurel, Jackson, Flowood, Meridian, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Mobile, and New Orleans — an unusually wide radius for a single studio. That reach means Emily Lofton Photography shows up as a realistic option for Hattiesburg families as well as those in several surrounding Mississippi cities who want the same full-styling experience without a different photographer for each life stage. Bookings and inquiries go through her website’s contact page. 

AM Photography by Valerie is based in Sumrall, just outside Hattiesburg, and focuses specifically on the earliest stages of a baby’s life — maternity, newborn, first-year milestones, and first-birthday smash sessions — rather than spreading across weddings or unrelated portrait categories. That narrow focus shows in how deliberately the studio is set up for infants: sessions are structured around milestone tracking, so a family can book a maternity session, a newborn session, and then a series of first-year check-ins as a connected package rather than one-off appointments with different photographers. Studio sessions are the primary format, giving Valerie full control over lighting, props, and temperature for newborns who need a warm, quiet environment to settle. Cake and food smash sessions round out the offering for families who want a documented first birthday alongside the earlier newborn work. For Hattiesburg-area parents who want one photographer to follow a baby’s entire first year rather than booking separately for each milestone, AM Photography by Valerie offers a studio built specifically around that continuity.