The 10 Best Lifestyle Photographers in Santa Fe

We love lifestyle photography because it’s an art form that can fit within any other genre of photography. Lifestyle portraits, documentary images, wedding photography, and more all help convey more about what it’s like to be the featured subject. And as the images of the top 10 Santa Fe lifestyle photographers demonstrate, The City Different is home to some of the best talent in the country!

1. Anne Stavley

Anne Stavley is one of the few Santa Fe lifestyle photographers with over 20 years of professional experience and counting! Her work is strongly centered around using her own creativity to portray how the creative spark plays out in the lives of others.

Anne documents the works of other local artists, including The Wheel of Fortune Tarot Project and over 100 working artists as a staff photographer for Santa Fe’s THE Magazine. Her images, therefore, include not only her vision of the world but the approaches taken by other creatives as well.

2. Mary Philipp-Neiberg

Few Santa Fe lifestyle photographers are as thoughtful about the creative movement and end result as Mary Philipp-Neiberg. As she explains her process: “I approach my editorial and commissioned assignments as an intimate photographic collaboration between client and photographer. The intention is always the same, to illuminate the beauty and grace of all that stand before me.”

We see this in her portraiture, where she often shoots dynamic scenes with movement while capturing those decisive moments that best convey the essence of the collaboration!

3. Genevieve Russell

Genevieve Russell is the photographer and documentary filmmaker behind Story Portrait Media! Connections between couples, families, pets, and coworkers are what caught our attention when viewing her work. Genevieve is equally expert with transmitting the goals and services offered by the brands she partners with.

And if you’re looking for an artist that uses color to great effect, you’ll love the way Genevieve effectively uses tones to convey nostalgia, romance, and other emotional narratives.

4. Caitlin Elizabeth

As Caitlin Elizabeth demonstrates, wedding photography can be so much more than mere documentation of the day’s events! In addition to this, she includes lifestyle elements of the venue, family, and setting to give viewers a clear picture of what it’s like to be her subjects.

Caitlin also covers engagements and proposals, using a style that’s brightly illuminated, with soft, pastel colors and vibrant highlights to complete the celebratory atmosphere.

5. Counterpart Creative

Don’t miss the wedding, engagement, proposal, and couples images of Counterpart Creative! Jess and Matt are the Santa Fe lifestyle photographers behind this brand and use settings to highlight the adventurous spirit shared by their couples.

The color grading style favored by Jess and Matt adds to the romantic quality of their images. The Southwestern backgrounds gain power thanks to the intentional use of earthy colors and rich contrast! We know straight away that you’re looking at a New Mexican wedding.

6. Kelli Johansen

As a Santa Fe lifestyle photographer with a strong focus on the documentary side of the genre, Kelli Johansen is well worth getting to know better. Her lifestyle images are unposed and delightful.

Here, we see the natural fine art beauty of life transmitted through attentiveness to these “moments in between.” Rather than polished poses, Kelli sees these snapshots in time as the foundation to a rich life. As she shares with us: “These moments & feelings, merely seconds are really everything. They add up to this experience we call our story.”

7. Kandice Nikole

Cheerful and engaging family lifestyle portraits are what Kandice Nikole has to share with us today! Her style is vibrant and celebratory, using rich color, coordinated apparel, and nostalgic outdoor settings to craft fine art photographs meant for the family album or living room wall space.

Kandice also masterfully picks out details like how children smile and the unique way you and your partner embrace as marks of your individuality. And she’s extremely flexible, especially where kids are concerned. If they decide to simply run about or make silly faces, Kandice knows that this natural expression of their innate joy is even more worthy of capture. By working with children’s quirks she shares images that are far more authentic.

8. Mason Marano

Mason Marano discovered photography during a challenging time in his life, finding a way to express himself and reignite his love for artistry. Having fully found himself through photography, he now explores street, documentary, and nude portraiture, approaching both social issues and the human form from a fine art perspective.

Mason’s use of color, motion blur, posing, and props all engage the viewer in ways traditional portraiture doesn’t. Each collaboration asks you to look deeper into Mason’s intentions as an artist!

9. Mary Moon

As a Montana transplant who now calls Santa Fe home, Mary Moon’s love for deserts and mountains has been completely sated by her surroundings. Her lifestyle photography is a deeply real presentation of the lives of her subjects, reaching across several genres but strongly centered around boudoir, birth, and maternity scenes. In these moments, we see people at their most raw, where new life and self-acceptance come into being.

And even in her more traditional family portraiture, Mary encourages her subjects to engage with each other in ways that highlight the authentic ways they reflect their connections.

10. Madeline of Northern NM Girl Photography

Sometimes we choose to partner up with Santa Fe lifestyle photographers because we want images that immediately convey a distinctly New Mexican vibe. Madeline of Northern NM Girl Photography does so masterfully, using well-chosen apparel and outdoor settings, including local churches, mountains, and parks, to say “here we are in Santa Fe!”

Some of the subjects Madeline works with include local pageant winners, couples celebrating their 50th anniversaries, and business headshots for brands looking to share the faces behind their services.

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