Find the Best Photographers in Montana

Taelor Conway Photography is a Butte-based portrait studio run by a full-time 5th and 6th grade teacher who picked up a camera as a creative outlet outside the classroom. Her background as a former special education teacher shows up in how she runs sessions — her newborn and family work is built around patience with kids of every temperament, letting personalities surface naturally instead of forcing a pose. Sessions span the full range a growing family might need: maternity, newborn, kids, family, and senior portraits, along with weddings and engagements for couples in the Butte area. As a mother of two boys herself, Taelor approaches newborn sessions with a parent’s instinct for timing naps, feedings, and the unpredictability of a two-week-old, aiming for an unhurried pace rather than a rushed studio schedule. Her portfolio favors soft, natural light and close-in details — tiny hands, wrapped feet, quiet expressions — over heavily staged setups. Clients can book through her Pixieset site, where mini sessions are also offered for families who want something simpler than a full studio appointment. For a teacher balancing two jobs, the throughline in her work is the same one she uses in the classroom: meeting each subject, whether a kindergartner or a one-week-old, exactly where they are. 

Eloquent Imaging operates out of a studio on Utah Avenue in Butte, where the photographer behind the lens grew up in small-town Montana and picked up her first camera at age 10. That early start turned into a business that now covers an unusually wide range of life stages in one place — boudoir, weddings, and engagements sit on the same service list as family, maternity, birth, and newborn sessions, letting the same photographer follow a client from a maternity shoot through the newborn stage a few months later. Newborn and birth work sits alongside her family sessions as a stated specialty, with an approach that leans toward candid, unposed moments over stiff studio setups — close, quiet details like a sleeping baby’s hand tucked into a swaddle rather than elaborate prop-heavy scenes. Outside of portrait work, she moonlights as a part-time storm photographer, having gone on her first storm chase in May 2022, which shows up in an eye for natural light and weather that carries over into her outdoor family and maternity sessions. Clients in the Butte area can reach the studio directly by phone or email, and her online gallery doubles as a running portfolio of the boudoir, wedding, and family work that keeps her booked across Southwest Montana. 

Jen Petritz has been photographing families across southwest Montana since founding her studio in 2009, and her newborn work has earned her the National Association of Professional Child Photographers’ Master Photographer Award in both the Senior and Newborn categories. Based out of Butte with a service area that stretches to Missoula, Bozeman, and Helena, she offers newborn sessions as either an in-studio appointment or an in-home visit, giving new parents the option that fits their comfort level best. Her packages layer from a focused two-to-three-hour newborn session up through The Baby Plan, a yearlong series that follows a baby from the maternity bump through the six-month mark and first birthday cake smash. Jen got her start as a film hobbyist at twelve years old, and that decades-long technical background shows in how deliberately she works with brand-new babies, who don’t exactly take direction. These days her daughter Alle has joined the business too, handling video and wedding work, which has let Jen lean further into the newborn and family sessions she loves most. Clients looking for documentary-style honesty paired with classic curled newborn poses will find both in her portfolio, along with black-and-white portraiture that leans on natural light rather than heavy studio setups. 

Melissa Stratton Photography, LLC is based in nearby Whitehall and has built a large, well-established following across southwest Montana, with newborn, baby, maternity, children, senior, and family portrait work all under one business. Melissa got into photography after the birth of her first child and describes it as a continuous learning process rather than something she considers ever finished, which shows up in a newborn gallery that spans years of consistent, recently updated work rather than a handful of older sample images. Her studio’s Facebook following has grown to nearly 9,000 people, a sign of real, sustained local demand rather than a newer or less-tested operation. Because Whitehall sits close to Butte, families in the Butte area are a natural part of her regular client base even though her studio itself is based just outside town. Beyond newborns, she also photographs maternity, older babies up through their first year, children, and full family sessions, so clients can return to the same photographer as their kids grow rather than switching studios for each new stage. For Butte-area parents willing to travel a short distance for an established newborn photographer, Melissa Stratton Photography offers a track record that’s harder to find at some of the smaller studios directly in town. 

Pictures By Penny is a Butte photography studio at 32 East Galena Lane that covers a broad mix of session types, from weddings and senior portraits to family, kids, and newborn photography, without charging a separate sitting fee. Its listed specialties include maternity and infant newborn photography specifically, alongside more general family and children’s portrait work, which sets it apart from Butte photographers who only mention babies as an afterthought under a broader ‘families’ category. The studio offers both indoor and outdoor sessions, plus black-and-white and sepia processing, collages, canvas prints, and framed products once images are finished. With more than 500 followers on its business Facebook page and dozens of local check-ins, it has an established, mostly word-of-mouth reputation in the Butte community rather than a heavily marketed online presence. For Butte parents looking for a newborn photographer close to home, Pictures By Penny’s explicit maternity and newborn specialty, combined with its no-sitting-fee pricing, makes it one of the few local studios genuinely built around that stage of a family’s life rather than treating it as a minor add-on service. 

Magnolia Photography is a Butte-based portrait business that takes on a wide range of session types rather than focusing on one narrow specialty, with baby and family photography listed alongside seniors, engagements, headshots, and action sports work. The business emphasizes flexible pricing with no minimum print order, which the photographer describes as a way to keep portraits accessible without clients worrying about hitting a spending threshold. Because Butte has a limited number of photographers who focus specifically on newborns, a generalist willing to schedule baby and family sessions alongside its other portrait work fills a real gap for local parents who don’t want to drive to a bigger city for a session. Sessions can be arranged indoors or outdoors, with black-and-white and sepia processing available alongside standard color, plus canvas prints and framed products for finished images. This kind of small, flexible operation tends to suit parents who want a straightforward, no-frills newborn or baby session without the packages and add-ons of a larger specialty studio. For Butte families who would rather book locally than travel to Missoula, Helena, or Bozeman for a dedicated newborn photographer, Magnolia Photography offers a nearby, budget-conscious option. 

Busy Bee Photography LLC is run by Katherine Henderson, known to clients as Katie, out of Helena, Montana. She works across a wide range of session types, engagements, weddings, family portraits, graduations, birthday and baby shower events, holiday sessions, and newborn photography, rather than specializing narrowly in one niche. A client testimonial from a newborn session describes Katie as willing to take as much time as needed to get the best shots of tiny fingers and toes, which points to a patient, unhurried approach rather than a rushed thirty-minute slot. Katie resides in Helena with her husband and two kids, giving her firsthand experience with the chaos and exhaustion of the newborn stage that shows up in how she talks with clients about scheduling around naps and feedings. While Helena is her home base, she is also open to traveling outside the city for events and sessions when families ask. For parents who would rather work with a generalist who already knows their family from an engagement or wedding session than bring in a newborn specialist they have never met, Busy Bee offers that kind of continuity across a family’s different life stages. 

Megan C. Photography is a Helena-based studio built around the idea that memories are worth slowing down for; the site’s own tagline puts it as ‘time passes by, but the memories remain.’ Megan Calvert’s newborn work is built specifically around in-home sessions rather than a studio visit, meaning families stay in their own space during the first couple of weeks after birth instead of packing up a newborn for a drive across town. That in-home approach tends to suit families who would rather not disrupt a fragile new routine, and it lets Megan work with whatever nursery or living room light a home already has rather than forcing a generic backdrop. Beyond newborn sessions, the business also offers a broader portrait menu with dedicated packages and pricing, along with a reviews page and blog where past sessions and client experiences are documented. For Helena parents who want a newborn photographer willing to come to them rather than the other way around, Megan’s in-home specialty is a straightforward fit, particularly for families juggling toddlers or older kids at home who would rather not coordinate an outside studio visit so soon after delivery. 

Shadow & Light Birth Photography is run by Britany Hoover, a Helena-based photographer who has also worked as a labor and delivery nurse for more than a decade. That nursing background shapes how she approaches newborn and birth sessions alike; she has spent years at the bedside during some of the most vulnerable, intense moments in a family’s life, and brings that same comfort-first instinct into her photography. Her newborn galleries include both classic sleepy-baby portraits and looser, documentary-style images that read more like a quiet home movie than a formal sitting. Britany describes birth as a kind of underworld journey that deserves to be documented with real weight rather than glossed over, and that philosophy carries into her newborn work too, where she looks for small, specific details over generic poses. As a mother of three boys herself, she brings personal experience with the newborn stage on top of her professional nursing background, which shows up in how relaxed her sessions feel for tired new parents. Helena families who want a newborn photographer who understands the medical side of birth as well as the artistic side have a rare combination in Britany, someone equally comfortable in a delivery room and behind a camera. 

Golden Hour Baby Co. is owned and operated by Sienna, a Kalispell-based newborn photographer who works exclusively in clients’ own homes rather than a studio setting. Her specialty is the Fresh 48 session, visiting the hospital within the first day or two after birth to document a baby’s earliest hours before the family even leaves for home, alongside more traditional in-home newborn sessions scheduled during the first couple of weeks. Sienna’s style leans unposed and baby-led: instead of arranging infants into elaborate setups, she follows their natural movements and expressions, working with whatever window light a family’s home provides. As a newer name in the Kalispell newborn photography scene, she’s currently keeping her session calendar intentionally limited, which means early clients get more direct communication and flexible scheduling than they might find with an established, fully-booked studio. Beyond newborns, she also works with growing families on relaxed, in-home lifestyle sessions rather than posed studio portraits. For Kalispell parents who want their baby’s very first hours documented in the hospital, or who would rather skip a studio visit entirely in favor of a session at home, Golden Hour Baby Co. offers a straightforward, personal alternative to the area’s more traditional newborn studios. 

Kiralee Jones has spent more than a decade photographing families across Kalispell and the Flathead Valley, building a natural-light portrait business around maternity, newborn, and family sessions. Her approach favors genuine connection between family members over stiff, formal posing, which she says comes from focusing on relationships rather than perfect symmetry in every frame. Based in Kalispell, Kiralee works with clients throughout the valley and travels statewide for sessions, giving her a broad view of Montana’s varied backdrops beyond a single studio setup. Over ten-plus years in business, she has refined a style that leans toward soft, natural light rather than heavy studio lighting or elaborate props, letting a newborn session feel calm rather than clinical. Alongside newborn and maternity work, she also photographs weddings and general family portraits, so clients often return to her for milestones beyond the newborn stage. For Kalispell families weighing a newborn photographer, her decade of local experience and consistent focus on natural light and authentic family connection set her apart from photographers newer to the business or working primarily in other niches. 

Jessica’s Visions Photography is an award-winning studio based in Whitefish, serving families across the greater Flathead Valley in northwest Montana. Alongside the wedding and family portrait work the studio is best known for, the business has spent years building out dedicated newborn photography content for the valley, including detailed guides on choosing a newborn photographer and planning session timing around a baby’s earliest days. The studio’s approach favors soft, natural light and a portfolio built from real Montana families rather than one formulaic setup, giving each newborn gallery its own character. Because the business already serves couples and families across Whitefish, Kalispell, and the surrounding valley for weddings and portraits, newborn clients benefit from a photographer already familiar with the area’s best light and locations rather than someone new to the region. The site has been actively maintained for years, with newborn-specific content updated as recently as this year, a sign the studio continues to prioritize this side of its business rather than treating it as an afterthought. Whitefish families looking for a newborn photographer with an established local reputation and a long-running body of published work have an easy option close to home. 

Monroe & Lucille Photography is a Missoula-based portrait studio run by Laci, a mother of two whose interest in photography started back in high school and has stayed with her ever since. The business takes its name from her daughters, Vivienne Monroe and Eliza Lucille, a personal touch that runs through the way she works with every family who sits in front of her lens. Laci’s approach leans away from stiff posing and toward genuine expression: she would rather prompt a real laugh or an unguarded moment than direct a formal smile, which gives her images an unscripted, lived-in feel. Alongside family and lifestyle portraiture, senior sessions, and branding work, her ‘Motherhood’ collection covers maternity bellies and the earliest days of a baby’s life, set against the mountain backdrops she loves showing off around western Montana. Clients booking a newborn session with Monroe & Lucille can expect a relaxed pace rather than a rigid shot list, with Laci adjusting to how the baby and the rest of the family are doing that day. Working out of Missoula, she serves families across the surrounding valley who want portraits that feel like their actual life rather than a stock photo, imperfect, warm, and specific to the people in the frame. 

Golden Hour Baby Co. is a newborn and family photography studio based in Kalispell, serving families throughout the Flathead Valley, including Whitefish. Owner and photographer Sienna specializes in warm, natural-light newborn sessions along with Fresh 48 hospital storytelling for parents who want their baby’s very first hours documented before they leave the hospital. Her approach is unhurried and baby-led: rather than posing infants into elaborate setups, she lets each session unfold at the baby’s own pace, focusing on small, real details — a yawn, a stretch, the curl of tiny fingers around a parent’s hand. In-home sessions are a signature offering here; no studio, no elaborate backdrop required, just soft window light and a family’s own space. Beyond newborns, Sienna also works with growing families on intimate in-home lifestyle sessions that document everyday life rather than stiff formal portraits. As a newer name in the Flathead Valley newborn scene, she’s currently taking on a limited number of sessions while she builds out her portfolio, which means early clients get more one-on-one attention and flexibility with scheduling. Families looking for a relaxed, unscripted alternative to traditional posed newborn photography, without sacrificing the quiet, golden-toned aesthetic the studio’s name promises, will find that here. 

Lindsey Cassidy relocated to Montana’s Gallatin Valley with her husband and rebuilt her photography business there after an earlier career as an ICU nurse. She’s spent more than ten years behind the camera since making that switch in 2016, working across maternity, newborn, family, and wedding sessions. Her newborn work favors natural light over built sets, and she talks about wanting galleries that read as lived memories rather than posed portraits, guiding parents through simple prompts so a session feels more like an afternoon at home than a formal shoot. Because Big Sky sits within the wider Gallatin Valley market she already serves from her Bozeman-area base, families there can book the same lifestyle newborn sessions offered closer to town, whether that means an in-home visit or meeting somewhere with good window light. Her faith and family life shape the unhurried pace she brings to sessions, and she currently homeschools her own kids between bookings. Clients reach her primarily by email rather than phone, and her reviews describe her as patient with young kids, quick to draw out genuine reactions, and easy to work with on both portrait and wedding days. Families interested in newborn or maternity work in the Big Sky area can start a conversation through her website’s contact form. 

One Oak Photography is run by Kelsey, a Bozeman-area photographer who has spent about twelve years photographing newborns, families, and weddings across southwest Montana. Her in-home newborn sessions bring props, wraps, and styling directly to a family’s living room, so babies stay in a familiar, comfortable space instead of being driven somewhere new during their first days home. Kelsey pairs newborn-only sessions with an optional family add-on at the end, giving parents and siblings a few relaxed portraits once the baby’s close-ups are finished. She describes herself as a mountain girl who grew up camping and hiking in the Rockies, and that outdoor-first personality shows up in how she talks about her work: unhurried, adventurous, and rooted in real relationships with the families she works with. Since she’s based just outside Bozeman, roughly the same drive that many Big Sky newborn clients already make for a studio-style appointment, she regularly extends her service area to include the resort community rather than treating it as an afterthought. Her booking process starts with a simple email inquiry, and she typically responds within 48 hours to confirm dates before sending a contract. Reviews collected through The Knot give her a perfect five-star average across ten write-ups, several of which mention how comfortable she makes clients feel in front of the lens even when kids or newborns make the day unpredictable. 

Abby Glover splits her working life between a photography practice and a real estate career with Windermere in downtown Bozeman, and she’s candid that the overlap between the two feels natural to her rather than like juggling two unrelated jobs. Her lifestyle newborn sessions run 60 to 90 minutes and happen in the client’s own home, priced as a distinct package on her site rather than folded vaguely into general family portraits. Recent sessions listed on her pricing page, including babies named Knightley, Will, and Cove, point to newborn work that’s actually booked and delivered rather than an offering that exists only in theory. She got into portrait photography partly out of her own regret at not having a recent family photo on the wall, and that personal motivation shows in a style that favors genuine interaction over stiff, catalog-style posing. Alongside newborns she also shoots weddings, seniors, and headshots, giving her a broad enough client base that a Livingston family isn’t relying on someone who only ever photographs one type of session. Because she works independently rather than through a large studio, scheduling tends to be more flexible around a newborn’s unpredictable first weeks. For families in Livingston willing to have a Bozeman-based photographer come to them, she offers a straightforward, moderately priced in-home option. 

Laura Simmons runs her family and motherhood photography business out of Bozeman, keeping her calendar open for the drive out to Livingston and the rest of the Paradise Valley when a new baby arrives. Her in-home newborn sessions lean into natural light and whatever a household actually looks like in those first sleep-deprived weeks, rather than staging a nursery scene that only exists for the camera. She describes her own approach as candid and unposed, more interested in real interaction between a baby and their older siblings than in perfectly symmetrical portraits, and that philosophy carries through a portfolio built almost entirely around in-home sessions rather than studio backdrops. Clients booking with her get a photographer who also shoots weddings and family sessions across the Gallatin Valley, so newborn work sits inside a broader practice rather than being a side offering tacked onto something else. Because sessions happen wherever the family already lives, there’s no packing up a fussy infant for a long drive to a studio, which matters when Livingston parents are already managing an hour-plus round trip just to reach Bozeman. Her editing style keeps skin tones warm and true rather than pushing toward heavily processed or overly bright looks, so the images hold up well printed for a nursery or shared with family years later. For a Livingston household wanting documentary-style newborn images taken on their own turf, she’s a reliable regional option. 

Dawna Kraus has been behind the camera since 1990, and that three-decade run shows in the ease she brings to a newborn session in Great Falls. Rather than treating a session as a single event, she folds newborn work into a broader practice that spans maternity, family, and wedding photography, which means she’s spent years learning how a household changes in the weeks after a baby arrives and how to work around that unpredictability. Parents describe her sessions as unhurried, she lets a fussy baby settle rather than rushing through a shot list, and she works in natural light rather than a fixed studio setup, which keeps newborn portraits looking soft and true to how the nursery or living room actually looks. She’s a Montana native, which matters here more than it might elsewhere: she’s built her business around the reality of scheduling around Great Falls winters and short newborn windows, not a transplant learning the market as she goes. Her online gallery leans heavily on real client sessions rather than styled stock setups, and her Maternity & Newborn portfolio sits alongside her wedding and family work, so the same eye she brings to a bridal portrait carries into how she frames a sleeping infant. For families who want a photographer who’s been doing this since before most wedding vendors in town existed, she’s a straightforward, locally rooted choice. 

Novella Lens Photography is run by Sarah, a Helena photographer who lives locally with her husband, children, and pets — a background that shapes how she approaches newborn sessions for other growing families. Rather than working from a studio, she offers in-home lifestyle newborn sessions built around real emotions inside a family’s actual living space, aiming for images that feel like an honest record of a specific week rather than a generic setup. Sarah describes her role as an artist and visual storyteller, and she provides gentle posing guidance throughout a session so that new parents who have never done this before still end up with a natural, comfortable result rather than stiff, instructed poses. Her broader client base across Helena and the surrounding area includes portraits centered on the people, relationships, and pets that make up a household, and newborn sessions fit into that same relationship-first philosophy. Because she works in-home, sessions can be scheduled around a newborn’s unpredictable feeding and sleep windows rather than forcing a family to be somewhere at a fixed time with a days-old baby in tow. For Helena parents who want a locally based photographer who understands the realities of a young family firsthand, Novella Lens Photography’s newborn work is built around that lived experience rather than a purely commercial approach.