Rachel Vanoven

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Rachel Vanoven International photographer, educator and speaker
Cincinnati • Indianapolis • ✈️ AZ/WI/CA/LA/TX
Education 👉 Rachel Vanoven Collective
(212)

Rachel is an international photographer, educator and speaker with a passion for capturing images of newborns and families in an honest and beautiful way.

10/23/2026

📣📣TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ITTTTTT📣📣

A slow morning, soft window light, a sleepy little brother, and the people who love him most.No elaborate setups, no nee...
10/22/2026

A slow morning, soft window light, a sleepy little brother, and the people who love him most.

No elaborate setups, no need for everything to be perfect. Just the tiny details, the familiar arms, the big brother kisses, and all those quiet little moments that make these first few weeks so special.

Sweet baby Cassius and his people. 🤍

P.S. I just love the last slide and what it means to me to let go of all the industry rules on backdrops and light and the entire setup — and just photograph newborns.

Edited with my film collection presets

I’ve known Sammy since she was in 7th grade, so when she reached out about interning with me through the high school’s s...
10/21/2026

I’ve known Sammy since she was in 7th grade, so when she reached out about interning with me through the high school’s senior internship program, I was SO excited — I’ve watched this girl play sports for the past six years, and if there’s one thing I knew about her, it’s that she wasn’t afraid of hard work!

Unfortunately, between my absolutely PACKED fall photography schedule and her soccer/basketball practices and games, we could NOT find a date to make her senior pictures happen.

Until I had an idea. 💡

What if we turned her senior session into a learning experience?!

Location scouting, finding pretty light in not-so-pretty places, shooting in the middle of the day, posing, camera settings… AND we could film the whole thing for The Collective!

Two birds, one stone. Actually, like six birds. 😬😆🤪

So we grabbed a dress, hopped in the car, and headed to a random patch of weeds and wildflowers I’d been driving past for weeks. (Yes, I knocked on the neighbor’s door and asked permission to photograph in her weeds.)

And THESE are the results from our first location!

We ended up filming a three-part senior photography series at three completely different locations, and part ONE dropped in The Collective yesterday!

It’s only ten minutes long, but we cover SO much about recognizing good light, making an ordinary location look beautiful, and working with what you’ve got.

Collective members: Go watch it! And don’t forget this week’s challenge is to find your own weird little location with beautiful light and MAKE IT WORK.

Not a member yet? This is exactly the kind of real-world photography education I love teaching. No elaborate setups, no perfect locations, just learning how to see what’s already in front of you.

And Sammy gets senior pictures out of the deal. 🥹

In the height of my busy season, this is the content that I feel the need to post 😆🤪But first, can we just appreciate th...
10/21/2026

In the height of my busy season, this is the content that I feel the need to post 😆🤪

But first, can we just appreciate the actual ARTISTRY that is happening on my fingertips? Inspired by Olivia Arnold • SLC Nail Tech• and executed by Trey Allen Nails — I am just SO glad to exist in a timeline where we get whimsical nails.

But moving on…I didn’t become a photographer in 2008 because I wanted to spend the next 18 years learning algorithms, writing, captions, making videos, studying consumer behavior, and figuring out how to convince strangers on the Internet to book me!

I wanted to take pretty pictures of babies 🤷🏼‍♀️

And I’m guessing a lot of you feel the same way about whatever business you started — you wanted to do hair. Or nails. Or bake cakes. Or make jewelry. Or photograph families. Or open a restaurant.

…and you’ve probably realize that being really effing good at what you do is only half of what it takes to run a successful business. BUT there’s something kind of exciting about realizing how much control we have over the way people experience our work.

The coolest thing about these photos (in my opinion), isn’t that it was taken with studio lighting or a fancy camera… It was breaking away from the typical plain background and pose that I see so much…and having FUN with props and positioning!

The end result didn’t change, but how it stood out from all the other amazing nail art posts did.

So whether your photographer, a nail artist, a hairstylist, a baker, boutique owner, or someone who started a business because you’re passionate about ONE thing and you’ve somehow ended up responsible for 47 others…

Dis post is for yewwwww 🫶

You don’t have to become a marketing expert overnight…but you DO have to be willing to learn, try things, and pay attention to what’s working and be smart enough to admit that maybe there’s a better way!

And major shoutout to my high school intern, Samantha Bright Photography for doing a great job photographing my fingers 😆🫶

I don’t think I’ve EVER done this before.Got Joss off to school this morning, laid back down thinking I’d close my eyes ...
10/07/2026

I don’t think I’ve EVER done this before.

Got Joss off to school this morning, laid back down thinking I’d close my eyes for a few minutes (I notoriously can’t fall back asleep after waking up, I can’t even nap!)…and I woke up at TEN O’CLOCK to a text Kim had sent me at 9:08 asking me if I was on my way to my 9:00 last appointment.

🫠

Before even apologizing or explaining, I sent her the FULL AMOUNT — because whether it’s a lash fill or a newborn session — *you can’t sell the same hour twice*

And just because life happens — myyy screwup shouldn’t become someone else’s financial loss.

Looking through my branding work to make this post made me realize how many small businesses besides photographers I’ve gotten to work with over the years. There are so many more businesses built around someone reserving their time, talent and expertise specifically for us!

Anyways, Kim…I’m still sorry 😵‍💫 and I’ll see you Friday 🫶

I Type B’d so hard as a photographer that somehow I’ve ended up with clients like these… 🥹They: -let every girl pick her...
09/29/2026

I Type B’d so hard as a photographer that somehow I’ve ended up with clients like these… 🥹

They:
-let every girl pick her ENTIRE outfit head to toe
-didn’t care that it wasn’t perfectly sunny
-didn’t care that it was 60° when the girls went FULL SEND into the river
-belted out Shania Twain songs the entire shoot
-and REQUESTED to end the shoot dancing in monster pajamas in front of car headlights 🙌😆

My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling the entire time ♥️

Four sisters getting to be EXACTLY who they are right now. Picking flowers, climbing on Dad, getting soaked, REAL hugs that squeeze and smoosh faces, and belly laughing so hard that I hope their parents will be able to hear it in the photographs for decades to come.

The longer I photograph families, the less I care about making everything look perfect and the more I care about making it feel like them.

Because someday these girls will be grown, and as adults, they won’t be looking back and noticing whether their outfits coordinated or the sun came out—they’re going to remember what it felt like when they were six and seven. ♥️

From being back in Indianapolis where my photography career started, to catching glimpses of the little girl I used to p...
09/28/2026

From being back in Indianapolis where my photography career started, to catching glimpses of the little girl I used to photograph in all of Arlie’s expressions…this senior session was such a full circle moment.

Arlie was the FIRST newborn I ever photographed, and her parents have booked me ever since. 🥹

It’s always wild to watch a baby grow into a young adult, but as a photographer, it’s so condensed. You see them once a year, and while you’re catching up, you’re also thinking about lighting, settings, siblings, location and how long you have until sunset.

Then they come back a year older. Every year.

So to have two full hours getting to know Arlie as an almost-18-year-old high school senior, after photographing every stage that came before?

So surreal, and such a breath of fresh air. Sweet Arlie. What a privilege it’s been to watch you grow. ♥️

🥹 I love my job
09/28/2026

🥹 I love my job

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325 Main Street C Loft
Brookville, IN
47012

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