Maternity Before you arrived
Newborn The first days
Cake Smash The first birthday
Timeless photographs of life’s first moments. Newborn, maternity and cake smash sessions in Irvine, California.
These days go by so quickly. My work is to slow a few of them down into photographs you’ll still be holding in twenty years.
Kathleen Lopes, photographer
Sessions
Three chapters,
photographed with care
Maternity
Elegant, quiet portraits that honor the shape of waiting.
View maternity
Newborn
Unhurried, safety-certified sessions in the first weeks, while everything is still impossibly small.
View newborn
Cake Smash
A first birthday, celebrated properly: color, frosting, and a very happy mess.
View cake smash
About
Hi, I’m Kathleen
I photograph newborns, expecting mothers and families from my studio in Irvine. Six years and more than a thousand sessions have taught me that the photographs people treasure are rarely the posed ones. They’re the small, true moments in between.
So my studio is built for calm: warm, quiet, unhurried, with everything a new family needs close at hand. You settle in. I take care of the rest.
In the studio
Looked after, in every detail
Safety certified
Trained in newborn and maternity posing safety. The studio is sanitized before every session.
Built for babies
A dedicated baby space with a nursing chair and changing table. Feed, change, rest, repeat.
Professional throughout
Professional lighting and equipment, and images retouched by hand rather than by preset.
Private by default
Your gallery arrives as a secure, password-protected link. Nothing is shared without your word.
- Private studio in Irvine
- Free parking at the door
- Private restroom
- Climate controlled
Trusted by families
L RH★★★★★This is our second time with Kathleen! Our first was in 2023 with our first born and again this year with our second son. I continue to be amazed with how professional and talented she is! She has the touch to calm babies and get the photos at the right moment. She does everything with ease, her studio is clean, and she has a warm energy that babies love. I would highly recommend her to anyone needing a newborn photoshoot!
Lizeth Moncayo★★★★★We had an amazing photo session for my son with Kathleen! She was so patient, kind, and made him feel completely comfortable. The photos turned out absolutely beautiful - we couldn't be happier. Highly recommend!
Jeanne Pham Nguyen★★★★★Kathleen is absolutely amazing!! She and her team are very responsive, accommodating, and considerate (which is so appreciated especially with a baby as the client). Watching her work with our baby was very fun for all! 2026 UPDATE- Thank you, Kathleen, for capturing our 2nd's newborn photos! Kathleen is such a sweet person to work with and is very transparent about the process. This is our first time using Kathleen for newborn session (the previous was a milestone shoot). Kathleen had prepared multiple prop and color schemes, and allowed us to select what we liked or if we wanted to make any changes. She was also very hands-on to guide us and our eldest when it came to photos with the parents/siblings. I look forward to working with Kathleen again!
Booking
Sessions are limited each month,
so that each one isn’t rushed.
Tell me a little about what you’re expecting and when, and I’ll walk you through the options.