Meet Christy Wallis of Rancho Bernardo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christy Wallis.

Hi Christy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My love for photography started when I was just 11 years old. My older sister gave me a little point-and-shoot film camera, and I was hooked. Back then, you only got 24 shots on a roll, and it could take months to finish it. I’d wait eagerly to pick up the prints from the photo lab — every envelope of photos was a surprise, since I’d often forgotten what I’d captured. I loved taking pictures of my black cat, my friends, and my cousins. Even as a child, I was drawn to the magic of freezing time — preserving a moment so I could revisit it forever.

Years later, when my oldest daughter Savannah was born, I became obsessed with documenting every milestone. I took so many videos and photos of her — though now I sometimes wish I’d put the camera down more and been fully in the moment. Still, that drive to capture fleeting memories never went away.

Once Savannah started elementary school, I became deeply involved in school fundraisers and class projects — always with a camera in hand. I was constantly taking photos for scrapbooks and events, and I quickly became known as the “camera mom.” Friends started asking me to take their holiday family portraits, and that’s when I started to realize photography might be more than a hobby.

In 2010, my family moved to California, and I met a new mom who had just welcomed her baby after a long and emotional 8-year journey through infertility and surrogacy. She asked me to take photos of her newborn, and that experience lit a fire in me. There was something deeply meaningful about capturing the delicate, fleeting beauty of a brand new life. That mama was part of a fertility support group, and soon, her friends were reaching out to me too. Word spread, and I started to build a reputation for warm, soulful newborn photography.

I immersed myself in learning — taking workshops, investing in professional equipment, and eventually expanding into maternity sessions as well. I wanted to create timeless, emotive images for every growing family I worked with.

Then, in 2018, my life changed drastically. After 19 years of marriage, I went through a divorce and found myself raising three children on my own. It was a scary, uncertain time — but I knew I had to make this business work. So I threw my heart into it, working harder than ever to grow Christy Wallis Photography.

Today, I feel incredibly lucky to be one of the busiest newborn photographers in San Diego. I’ve captured thousands of tiny faces, and I treasure every single one. I’m so grateful that I get to do what I love every day — and I can’t wait to meet the next thousand babies who come through my studio doors.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges has been balancing motherhood and running a business. As a single mom of three, there were times I felt like I was juggling flaming swords — coordinating photo shoots around carpool schedules, homework, sports practices, and dinner. In the early days, I even brought my youngest son along to sessions when he was a toddler, setting him up with snacks and toys in the corner while I worked. It wasn’t always graceful, but it was real life.

There were weekends I had to choose work over family outings, and times I stayed up late editing after everyone else had gone to bed. Trying to keep a spotless home studio while raising three young kids was a challenge in itself — toys, laundry, and little fingerprints were part of the chaos behind the scenes.

And of course, during COVID, there was a lot of fear. I worried that no one would be willing to bring their fragile newborns into a studio, and I wasn’t sure if my business would survive. But I adapted, put safety first, and was touched by how many families still trusted me to document their most important moments. Those challenges only deepened my gratitude for the work I get to do.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In the beginning, I was completely captivated by the work of photographers I admired — legends in the newborn world like Kelly Ryden, Nicole Smith, Jade Gao, and Erin Tolle. I didn’t just scroll through their feeds; I studied their every image. Their work moved me — the way they used light, emotion, and posing to create something timeless.

But I knew I didn’t just want to be inspired from afar — I wanted to see how they worked in real time. So I invested in myself. I paid to attend their workshops, sometimes traveling long distances just for the chance to watch them in action. One trip even had me flying into Denver and driving across Nebraska to visit one of them — just so I could absorb everything I could from her process.

From each of those experiences, I picked up different tools — how to shape light, how to pose a newborn in a way that feels natural and safe, how to evoke true feeling from an image. Over time, I blended those lessons with my own instincts and vision. The result is a style that feels deeply personal to me: timeless, emotive, and quietly powerful. It’s not just about a pretty picture — it’s about preserving a feeling that a family can return to again and again.

What are your plans for the future?
’ll admit, at one point I worried that things like filters, presets, and even AI might replace some of what I do — but I’ve come to realize that what I offer is something technology can’t replicate: connection, emotion, and the ability to make families feel seen and celebrated.

There’s a real magic that happens when I’m holding the camera and a brand new baby curls into their mama’s arms — that moment, that tenderness, can’t be generated by a program. So my goal for the future is to keep chasing that magic. I want to push myself to capture emotion even more powerfully, to keep refining my craft, and to keep learning and evolving.

I truly believe you never stop growing as an artist, and that’s what keeps this work exciting — knowing there’s always something new to discover and a thousand more tiny faces to fall in love with.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.christywallisphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christywallisphotography or @christywallisphotography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christywallisphotography
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/christy-wallis-baby-photography-san-diego