Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Estrada.
Hi Jeffrey, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We’re Jeff and Kari, and we’re a husband-and-wife photography team based in Rhode Island. We actually met when we were 12 years old and have been together since 2009. This October, we’ll be celebrating 10 years of marriage, so we’ve been together for a long time.
We started our business around 2016, but in the beginning we mainly photographed pets.
In 2020, Jeff’s sister-in-law became pregnant. Because of COVID, she wanted to be very careful about being around people, so we photographed her maternity session and, shortly after, her newborn session. We really loved the experience and realized how much we enjoyed photographing these important moments for families.
That led us to start focusing on maternity and newborn photography in September 2020. We weren’t really sure where things were headed, especially with everything going on at the time and starting a newborn photography business during COVID.
Since then, we’ve continued learning, growing, and building the business together. We also became parents ourselves this year with our daughter, Ellie, which has given us an even more personal connection to the families we work with. It’s become something really special to us, and it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come since that first session.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. There have been a lot of ups and downs, especially because we started focusing on newborn photography during COVID, when there was already so much uncertainty. We had to learn almost everything as we went, from photography and posing to marketing, sales, and actually running a business.
One of the hardest parts has been learning how to keep going during slower seasons and not get discouraged when things don’t go as planned.
But we’ve learned a lot from the hard parts. Every challenge has helped us improve, and we’re still here, still growing, and still excited about what we’re building together.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We’re a husband-and-wife photography team specializing in maternity, newborn, and family photography throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts. For newborns, we offer both a studio-style look and lifestyle photography in the family’s home. We bring everything we need to create a beautiful studio-style setup, but we also love capturing the natural moments of families simply being together at home.
For maternity sessions, we offer outdoor sessions and also have an in-home dress try-on experience, where our clients can choose from our maternity dresses before their session. For newborn clients, we also offer Zoom consultations before the session so we can get to know the family, answer questions, and help them feel prepared.
We also photograph families beyond the newborn stage, because we love being able to continue working with our clients as their families grow.
What sets us apart is how much thought we put into the experience, not just the photos. We want our clients to feel comfortable and taken care of from the first conversation all the way through receiving their final images. We’re really proud that we’ve built a brand around creating a personal experience and preserving these important stages of family life.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
What we like most about Rhode Island is how much you can experience in such a small state. We have the ocean, beautiful beaches, historic towns, cities, and so many different places to photograph, all within a short drive. We also really like the sense of community here and the fact that we’ve been able to build our business around the families in the area.
What we like least is probably the weather. It can be unpredictable, especially when we’re planning outdoor sessions. But even with that, we really love living and working in Rhode Island.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jeffandkari.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffkariphoto
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffkariphoto
