Meet Mariela Duval | Newborn and maternity photographer as well as pharmacist.

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

Hi Mariela, what do you attribute your success to?
I think the most important reason for my success is the passion I feel for what I do. I absolutely love photographing babies and pregnant mammas and truly feel honored when people trust me to document these special and fleeting moments. I am passionate about helping families have a constant reminder of the love they feel for each other and their new family by creating art work that they can display in their homes.

I love to learn better ways to serve my clients and I am constantly finding better ways to provide a unique experience for my clients.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a pharmacist and have worked at a children’s hospital all my career. Photography has been a passion of mine since I was a child. Little did I know that it would eventually become a thriving business for me. Right before I turn 50, I discovered newborn photography. I had always been the mom with the camera documenting my children activities. But when a good friend asked me to do her maternity and newborn photos, I was hooked. I immediately embarked in educating myself on all aspects of newborn photography, starting with safety. Starting a small business was very challenging, coming from a pharmacy background. It involved a lot of learning on how to navigate being a small business owner while still managing my family and other career responsibilities.

The more I learned about taking the tiny human being in my hands and working together to create art, the more I was hooked. I learned to read their cues, knowing how to calm them down, how to pose them and when they have had enough.

Seeing the parents cry from emotion during the photo shoot, as well after seeing their images, is priceless. Capturing the tiny little nose, eyes, mouth, fingers, toes is so special. I imagine that little human growing up and knowing all the possibilities of what they can accomplish.

In honesty, being a newborn photographer is the best job in the world. Not only I absolutely love what I do, but also so rewarding knowing that these photographs will be treasured for generations.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love Atlanta, and love showing it off to friends. When very good friends come to visit, we love to take nice long walks in Piedmont Park. You can learn a lot about the vibrancy of the city by people watching there. We would definitely go in the late afternoon and watch the sunset and maybe even get a picture of the skyline over from Lake Clara. We may head to the High Museum before visiting the park and enjoying some art.
Another day, we would spend it in Inman Park and Virginia Highlands. I love all the coffee shops in the area, and we would start with a very long brunch, maybe at Folk Art restaurant. We would hang out and talk and catch up over coffee and linger. We would then walk to the belt line, and maybe rent bicycles and enjoy the beltline. We would go to Barcelona for lunch and then do some shopping in all the eclectic stores in the area. We would finish with dinner at DelBar or if feeling more festive, we would go to Amore e Amore.
We would spend a day visiting the world of Coca-Cola as well as the Aquarium. We would pick up ice-cream Three peaches Gelato and Coffee and do dinner in Buckhead. Some favorite spots, St Cecilia, Le Bilboquet, Aria.
Since we love to hike, and there are so many wonderful hikes in the area, we could go hiking one day in the city such as East Palisade Trail, Sope Creek Trail, or Vickery Creek trail (which is only 2 miles from my house).
We would spend another day visiting the north Georgia mountains, such as Helen, Amicalola falls.
We would also spend a day with nothing plan, maybe just cooking at home after visiting the farmers market and just enjoying some easy listening music, food, wine and conversation.

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?
There has been so many people and groups that have helped me throughout as I embarked as a solopreneur but probably the most impactful person has been Sue Bryce. She is a portrait photographer, educator, content-creator, who I met early on in my career and she has helped me with self-value, business, and accepting money. She has inspired me to be an efficient and effective businesswoman. As a newborn photographer, I consider Amy Scott from Dewdrop Photography my mentor. My photography style is inspired by Amy. I also have a wonderful support of photographers who I met at a conference almost a decade ago, and they have been my daily support (we communicate almost daily via WhatsApp as we live in different countries).
And of course, no one will have any success without the support of family- my husband of 27 years has been my rock as well as my children who have to deal with being models for test shots for lighting, poses, new ideas as well as assistants.

Website: https://marieladuvalphotography.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marieladuval/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marieladuvalphotography

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mariela-duval-photography-atlanta-2

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@marieladuval6
https://www.pinterest.com/marieladuvalphotography/