I believe light is magical -  always mysterious, always different and always mezmorizing - and never exactly the same.  I'm a natural light photographer that specializes in outdoor dance portraits, Santa Barbara Courthouse Elopements, and family portraits. I always want the people I photograph to feel like themselves, so my approach is a laid back presence. I genuinely want to see who people are and reflect that back to them in their photos. My soft-focus style embraces artistic blurs and captures those sweet in-between moments as though they are fine art. Every moment, every season of this precious life is valuable to me — knowing that today will never be recreated again I'm forever grateful that life can be thoughtfully preserved though beautiful photos.

Hi! My name is Janelle and ever since I was young, I’ve loved capturing life “in the moment” with photos.

I started taking photos when I was young, around junior high, I think. I was totally nuts about it. I would photograph every adventure my friends and I had. I would practice taking glamour shots with friends. I photographed the sunrise. I truly believed that each moment was so precious. I would eagerly wait for my film to be developed at Rite Aid. I totally would check in with them multiple times each week to see if they were ready yet!! Unbeknownst to me, Jose Villa worked in the photo developing department at Rite Aid and he was the one I often asked repeatedly, "Are my photos ready yet?!"  Oh my goodness, lol!

But, I didn't officially begin to pursue my passion for photography as a career until 2008. That year I literally had a dream about working with a photographer that I followed at the time. I dismissed it as non-important but oddly enough within a few months, I ended up interning with that very same local wedding photographer in Santa Barbara. It was incredible! We had a blast and he even paid me to second shoot for him, which was miraculous because I had not had any formal training.

And well, the rest is history. I focused on photographing weddings for the first 10 years of my career and then transitioned to focusing on portraits and elopements in Santa Barbara after becoming a homeschool mom of two very spirited girls.

I am totally in love with photographing beautiful light and graceful movement and people, especially who they are on the inside.

Santa Barbara portrait photographer forever chasing those enchanting golden hour rays.

Intuitive, Light-loving Portrait Photographer

serving santa barbara california & beyond

meet janelle