Photography & Portraits in Phoenix

At first, Connie and Steve's courtship involved talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning. But unlike most lovebirds, they'd talk about photography and photo-editing programs. This shared passion eventually led them to open CWLIFE Photography, allowing them to team up to shoot everything from weddings to business headshots to pet portraits. During photo sessions, Connie and Steve blend their own unique shooting styles to produce images from multiple angles and a variety of perspectives. The pair snaps shots on location or in their 800-square-foot private studio with the high ceilings of a cathedral or Michael Jordan’s top-hat closet. Though they still stay up into the wee hours of the morning talking about photography, the Nikon-toting duo continues to evolve their photo-taking abilities by attending educational workshops at least once a year.

A sultry boudoir shoot rarely emphasizes its subject’s wingspan, but the two female photographers who helm Flash Boudoir—Tina Celle and Melissa Mulera—never shy away from an unusual image. Featured by ABC15, their shots can capture women sporting lingerie and feathered wings, artistically draped in bed sheets, and posing for pinup shots in vintage-style swimsuits. As she shoots, Tina draws on her years in fashion journalism, whereas Melissa pulls from her background in fine art and graphic design. Their private studio brims with unique sets for clients to choose from, such as beds piled in pink sateen and pole-dancing sets featuring rehabilitated tetherball poles.

When Mike Maez purchased his first digital camera in 2001, it was love at first snapshot. Swapping his previous day job for a life behind the lens, Maez has since filled his portfolio with more than 40 magazine covers, publishing work for Getty, the Boston Globe, and corporate clients including AOL, Microsoft, and Ford. This infectious enthusiasm extends to his portraiture, helping him immortalize wedding days, graduations, or sack-race victories with complete photographic packages rendered in digital formats or appealing albums. Mike also teaches students to become self-sufficient shooters with photography workshops, during which classes combine hands-on experience and classroom work to teach pupils how to attractively compose and light their shots.

It was 1969 when Steve Nissle took his first professional photograph. Over the next four decades, Mr. Nissle would win awards, achieve accreditation as a Master Photographer from the Professional Photographers Association of America, and relocate to an Arizona-based studio, which he named Nissle Fine Art Photography.

Today, he continues to capture memorable moments between engaged couples, families, and other subjects. Depending on the client's personality and preferences, he might shoot inside the studio, venture outside to his onsite garden and park, or travel to scenic desert locales, including Superstition Mountain and the pile of broken mirrors next to Superstition Mountain. Steve works alongside his son, Nolan, who has been following in his father's footsteps for more than 12 years.

Gary Steiner knew he was in trouble. His social studies teacher—whom his classmates had nicknamed "the walrus"—had just caught him drawing the teacher's cartoon likeness with an exaggerated handlebar mustache and buckteeth. Instead of punishing him, however, the teacher offered him a job drawing caricatures for the Arizona State Senate. His childhood desire to sketch everything he saw had finally paid off. It was this desire that led Gary to eventually pick up a camera and fully realize what he calls "the ability to produce in print that which the eye envisions."

Over the last 15 years, Gary has done just that, toting his camera to fashion shows, weddings, and studio shoots where he immortalizes his subjects in clean, editorial-style images that have appeared in Arizona Foothills Magazine. His close-up portraits experiment with color contrast and saturation, ranging from stark, black-and-white face shots to softly colored full-length poses of women and children. His experience with boudoir and fine-art photography has allowed him to capture the beauty of the nude female form in intimate maternity shoots or in lingerie shots that incorporate candid poses and unconventional angles. Aside from having his boudoir work showcased in the Raintree/Northsight location of Fascinations, Gary's accomplishments include being able to spell daguerreotype from memory.

Mr. Duke started his self-named photography business more than 60 years ago, but that doesn’t mean his company’s services are old-timey. One of the team’s specialties is photo restoration, where ultramodern computer software helps them produce crystal-clear images from scraped, creased, or faded originals. Of course, the primary objective of the business is to help families create new memories, which they do with Duke Photography’s signature portrait sessions held at studios in Phoenix or Tempe. At the Phoenix location, photographers work both inside the studio and out, as they’ve cultivated a garden adjacent to the studio that serves a lush backdrop for shoots. The Tempe studio’s outdoor space is surrounded by crystal lakes that provide a tranquil setting to capture snapshots of families or synchronized swimmers. Sessions are open for any occasion, though the team at Duke Photography specializes in portraiture for families, businesses, weddings, high-school seniors, and sports teams.