We asked Captured By Mallary, ranked No. 1 for family and No. 2 for maternity photography in Tampa, six questions in our “Fun & Personal” interview. Mallary Denson is the founder and photographer behind the studio in New Tampa.
These answers are adapted from the “Meet Mallary” page, including its “Off Camera” section and client reviews, on capturedbymallary.com and are pending Mallary’s review.
What is something about you that would surprise your clients?
That the calmest person in the room used to be the one running a classroom. Before Captured By Mallary became a New Tampa portrait studio, Mallary Denson was an elementary school teacher, and to this day her former students’ families might still call her “Ms. Mallary.” Her site says she’s still the calmest person in the room when a three-year-old decides photos are over, and it isn’t a figure of speech: those years taught her how to get real smiles out of toddlers, teens and camera-shy partners alike.
It also explains why her sessions feel the way they do. Patience comes first, then direction, then the photograph. Clients walk in expecting a photographer and tend to meet something closer to the favorite teacher they never had to be nervous around.
What is the first photo you remember taking?
Mallary may not be able to point to one single frame, but she can point to exactly where it all began: the yearbook club in high school. She was the one documenting friends, games and school events, learning to look for the moment just before everyone realizes they’re being photographed. Photography was a hobby then, a way of keeping the people and the days she cared about.
The hobby followed her into the classroom, where her class photos had parents asking for copies. Then it followed her into every family gathering, because she became the relative everyone handed the camera to at reunions and birthdays. Each stage added a little more skill and a little more trust, until families kept asking her to photograph their biggest moments and the studio simply became the next logical step.
What song is always playing when you shoot or edit?
If you ride with Mallary to a location, you’re getting a concert. Her favorite hobby, according to her own website, is car karaoke, and clients are warned to expect 90s R&B on the drive to the shoot, sung loudly and mostly on key.
The soundtrack between sessions has a title, too: the music from 50 First Dates plays on almost every drive from one session to the next. It’s a fitting choice for a photographer whose whole business is about holding on to moments that people would otherwise forget, and it’s a good hint at the energy she brings to a session: warm, a little goofy, and always ready to have a good time.
What is the one thing you tell every nervous client?
You never have to guess what to do with your hands. It sounds like a small promise, but it’s the one that makes most people exhale. Mallary directs every pose and guides every moment, so no one is left standing awkwardly in front of a camera, wondering what to do with their arms, their chin or their kids.
Her approach is built on three ideas her site returns to again and again: patience first, every pose directed, and a final look that’s unmistakably you. She also photographs every session herself and edits every gallery herself, with no outsourced editing, so the person who coached you through the shoot is the same person who color-grades and retouches the photos you end up framing. For a nervous client, that continuity is half the comfort.
What is the best compliment a client has ever given you?
Mallary’s website lets her clients answer that one in their own words, and a few of their reviews say a lot. Rebecca, a Tampa family client, wrote that Mallary “is able to capture perfect moments that show the joy that people are feeling.” Weedlinn called her “very kind, patient, and professional,” and added that “it’s very fun to have a photo shoot session with her.” Kiara, who had her professional headshots done in the studio, described her as “so warm and welcoming.”
Put together, the words are almost the same each time: kind, patient, joyful, welcoming. For a photographer who’s made it her business to put people at ease first, those reviews show the approach is working. They also add up: her site counts 143 Google reviews at a perfect 5.0.
What is your favorite beach for photos, and what time of day is best?
St. Pete Beach is one of the favorite locations Mallary names, and it sits on a short list that shows her range: the Tampa Riverwalk, Hollis Gardens, Armature Works, Le Méridien and St. Pete Beach. That’s everything from waterfront skyline to a formal garden to an industrial-chic food hall to a hotel, and then the Gulf.
For maternity and family portraits she pairs the setting with the light. Her maternity work is described as studio glow and golden hour, the soft, warm light that arrives as the sun drops toward the horizon. Mallary is based in New Tampa and photographs across Tampa Bay, with outdoor sessions that include one location within 30 miles of Tampa, so the beach is only one of many backdrops, and she’ll recommend the right one on the consult call.
Photos by Captured By Mallary
See Captured By Mallary’s profile and check availability, or browse the top family photographers in Tampa.