At the time I originally decided to start studying photography, it was right after my son was born. My husband bought me my first real camera, which was a huge jump from my point and shoot cameras I have always had. He knew I needed a creative outlet that was outside of my then often stressful job. I started taking pictures of Teddy as often as possible. I had no idea what I was doing, there was very little newborn education at that time and I had zero clue how to shoot in manual mode. I searched the internet, and found a blog by Clickin’ Moms and read everything that I could. Facebook groups ..read more

Customer service in any business industry is the lifeline of any successful company. Whether that company is a small mom and pop shop like my most favorite local grocery store, large companies like Target, or luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, customer service must be at the forefront of client management.  Prior to starting my photography career, I worked at Stanford Health Care in Palo Alto where I had the privilege of working in Administration under Amir Dan Rubin. Amir as President and CEO set our organization apart in the health care industry. Each employee, regardless of role were re ..read more

We all love capturing precious moments in our lives and photography is one of the best ways to do that. But what good is taking great photos if they’re not printed on the best possible paper? Archival fine art paper is specially designed to preserve your photos for a long time. It’s made with high-quality materials that are acid-free and pH-neutral, which means it won’t fade or turn yellow over time. This ensures that your memories stay as vivid and sharp as the day they were captured. But that’s not all. Printing your photos on archival fine art paper from a professional print lab gives you a ..read more

Part One: My creative images and why I am so passionate about them… Creative sessions for me often are what help push my client work to the next level, beyond the bounds of typical portrait work. When we moved to Fresno 2 1/2 years ago, it was evident that the norm here was outdoor lifestyle photography which was far outside from what I had  been drawn to and educated in. I longed to create a niche for myself that was ME.  True Fine Art Photography is deep in emotion, rich colors, strong contrast and scroll stopping connection. When I first saw the works of Vermeer, Rembrandt and Deg ..read more

So often when photographers first start charging for their work they are so grateful for the opportunity to work that they undersell themselves and give clients huge digital galleries. The galleries get downloaded (or not) and then sit in a file on a computer somewhere. The images may be shared once or twice on social media and then forgotten again until the client books another session. Digital photography was a huge advancement in the easy fast creation of capturing images that anyone could get a point and shoot camera and snap to their heart’s content. The differences between the profession ..read more

Little Lion Photography Co. is a we, not a me. Yes I, Samantha, am the one that captures your family but the amazing people that help this company thrive everyday are vital to the success of this little business. When I was struggling to name my business I thought long and hard how it can represent me and my family the best. My last name León means Lion in Spanish and having two small children just made sense to think of Little Lion Photography. After I put those pieces together, I thought about my husband and how hard he worked to help me make this dream come true. I realized that this wont b ..read more

Maternity photography is a new genre in the portrait world that has taken off like a rocket within the last 10 or so years. It is unfortunate that celebrating the pregnant body is a new societal norm but I am all here for it and have made it my goal to have as many women celebrate the beauty that they each have. In society women are often overlooked in areas of celebration. We give life to this world! I encourage women to book their session around their 12th week of pregnancy to ensure being able to secure the most desired date with the session taking place between 27 to 30 weeks along. Women ..read more