When it comes to photography, Morgan Campbell’s favorite thing to shoot is the first thing she learned to shoot. “My mom was a professional photographer in Alabama,” she says. “So when I was in high school, she would have me assist her at weddings and I started doing every single wedding with her. I’ve been shooting since I was a sophomore in high school.”
Since those early high school days in the south, Campbell’s repertoire has expanded to include family and couple sessions (like the photobombed engagement session on the cover of this magazine), content branding photography for local businesses (such as Saratoga’s Miss Scarlett Boutique and Kane’s Fine Wine & Spirits), and even editorial work (she shot Carson Kressley for the cover of Saratoga Living last summer). She moved to Saratoga in March 2020, and despite the poor timing pandemic-wise, emerged from Covid with a list of local clients, a job at Pure Barre and a social life. “My late husband worked for the Navy and they transferred us up here,” Campbell says. “After he passed away I decided to stay because I had a ton of friends in the area and I loved my little job that I had.”
Campbell also loves Saratoga itself. “I always wanted to live in a walking town,” she says. “I was a huge Gilmore Girls fan growing up. This town is a mix of a city and a very walkable, Gilmore Girls-esque town. It’s so cute and, being a photographer, the whole town is just a wonderful backdrop to photograph.”
Campbell has certainly made a name for herself in Saratoga and the greater Capital Region for her photography skills—she describes her work as “not the most perfect, posed photo, but definitely one that’s interesting and makes you want to keep looking at it.” But it’s the connections she makes with her clients that earned her the coveted Bestie for Best Photographer; her effortless southern charm makes you feel like a longtime friend, even upon just meeting her. “People welcome me into their home and I get to see a different side of them,” she says. “I make all kinds of friends and get to meet all kinds of people.”
