Szpak-Holly specializes in maternity, newborn, baby, family, and pet portraiture. She estimates about 95% of her work is done in-studio “due to our harsh summers and winters, the ‘outdoor’ season here is short. Fall lasts three weeks if we are lucky.” She loves her photography specializations because she “can grow with families and continue to see them for years. I have clients that I have seen every year since the beginning. Clients that were once newborns are young adults.” Szpak-Holly says these connections become relationships that make her clients feel more like friends than “work.”
Like many, Szpak-Holly first picked up a camera to capture her youngest child after he was born. At the time, she was working a stable, full-time job, but her heart wasn’t in it. She says “I wanted to have a career that gave me joy and flexibility to put myself and my family first.”
How does Szpak-Holly keep her passion for photography alive? “I never stop shooting,” she says. She takes breaks from scheduled sessions and finds something different to recharge herself when burnout hits. “This is usually when I pack up the car, go on a road trip and just drive/shoot. No humans. No subjects,” she says. Szpak-Holly also never stops learning. She says there is “always something new to learn or try. I do not love doing the same photo over and over again.”