Meet Kelly Goggin | Newborn and Birth Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kelly Goggin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Well, that’s a funny story- I used to be a kindergarten teacher. While that could also be seen as a creative career, I began to feel stuck and it was harder and harder on my heart. There was a deep need to create and photography has always been an interest to me. When my niece was born, I shot her newborn photos and while they were terrible, felt a deep draw in my soul. I LOVED it! Upon reflection, I realized I have always felt drawn to the connections in life. Most particularly, those between parent and child. Motherhood is by far the most incredible experience I have gone through in my life and the drive to capture that emotional connection between a new mama and her precious baby is the chief inspiration behind my work. I believe each of us has a need to create things in our life and the career I have built allows me to fill that constantly. Shooting brings me such a deep joy and fulfillment, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I believe that one thing that sets me apart is my unique vision of the connection between a family. I know that each family story is beautiful… There are so many different connections and things to capture and explore in one single family unit. As a story-teller, I want to shoot things you feel in your soul. To capture the way my client’s husband flirts with her, the way their toddler plays with their fingers, the contented look in the baby’s face as she snuggles into her mama. Every single lesson I have learned, every hour I have spent learning is dedicated to becoming better at shooting and more efficient.

I want my work to MEAN SOMETHING and it does because I live and shoot to tell my client’s STORY. As a result of this, I spend most of my time in my client’s homes witnessing their most intimate moments: as they become parents, as they get to know their new baby, as they build memories and spend time with their children. I spend a great amount of time during a session just watching. Watching the light play on my client’s faces, watching the tiny movements and trying to capture that in a tangible way. That is what sets me apart as an artist.

It has taken a lot of trusting myself, realizing I do not need a studio to be a “professional photographer” and to trust my instincts. It has not been an easy road, filled with lots of re-working, learning, curating, analyzing. I just recently had my first baby and a great example of that is having to cut way back on the types of sessions I can book. I simply just have less time because most of it goes to nurturing my sweet infant. Change and evolving is crucial for a living business though. Those seasons are an important part of it as well. You can’t always be grinding, moving forward and sometimes we have to know when to push pause and reflect as well. Along the way, I realized that I needed to be true to what I have been gifted to do- capture newborns in their parents arms, in their homes and that has taken a whole bunch of hard work and pivoting however- in the end, I have created a brand that is true to me, true to my goals and it works!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What a great question! I live in Naples, so there used to be nothing to do. Recently though, Naples has upped it’s game. We would spend sunsoaked mornings at the beach, maybe hang out at LaPlaya. 3rd street has some amazingly delicious restaurants. We would definitely get coffees at Kunjani or the Narrative and spend a lot of time hitting the spas around here too!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Dedicated to my husband who is my main cheerleader, supporter, and most helpful critic.

Website: www.kellygogginphotography.com

Instagram: @KELLYGOGGINPHOTOGRAPHY

Youtube: Kelly Goggin Photography- Edit with me!

Other: I’ve also taught a few classes for photographers through the Milky Way Newborn Retreats and offer mentoring!