Hello!

My name is Kristi Stephens. I own Bella K Photography with my husband Clint.  Let's see, you want to know my story.... Most people would say they don't have much to tell when asked this question.  It's hard to write about yourself!  I grew up thinking I would be a writer.  I always thought I would write novels or be a writer for the newspaper.  During college at Grand View University, I had to take photography classes and found out I was actually pretty good at it!  I ended up taking every photography class they offered, photographed for the school newspaper, and got a job at Walmart Portrait studio (hey we all had to start somewhere! haha!). At the end of my senior year of college, I was offered a full-time studio manager position at a local photography studio. I worked there for 4 years before they closed due to the owners health. I remember calling Clint freaking out like what are we going to do? We decided to open our own studio so on April 1, 2006, Bella K Photography was born! It has been wonderful to have my own studio. I have learned so much about myself and have become a better photographer.  I am always trying to learn more so I can offer our clients the best photography experience.  I feel so blessed to be able to give back to our community as a business and I always try to support local businesses and charities. The charities near and dear to our heart are Children's and Families of Iowa and Rebuilding Together. You'll often find us volunteering our time and talents to these great organizations. 

Clint and I met while working at the Hy-Vee salad bar, I know it doesn't sound like a great story, but hold on it gets better I promise! Our first date was to the Tim McGraw concert at the Iowa State Fair.  Five years later on the same date, we were married and danced to "It's your Love" by Tim McGraw!  We have now been together for 22 years.  We have lived in Waukee since we started dating 22 years ago. Clint has served on the Waukee Fire Department for the past 24 years.  We have 3 of the cutest kitties, Ash, Chole, and Cora.  We have hosted three foreign exchange students, Emma, from Finland, Anna from France, Tereza from Slovakia, and Nele from Germany this year.  We are volunteers and liaisons for AFS.  We have loved getting to know the exchange students and learning about their countries and cultures. We can't wait to someday visit them all and meet their families in person. In our free time you will often find us at Lake Ponderosa, this is actually the same place where we had our first kiss so it is a really special place to us.  We enjoy spending our days there swimming, playing yard games, volleyball, hanging out in the hammock, and kayaking.  I love gardening and going to a local farm to pick my produce and canning all of the things.  As a couple we really love to travel! Clint would probably say he loves anywhere with a beach, but he really loves California (several of our pictures above were taken there).  Our favorite trips would be of course California, Jamaica where we went on honeymoon, and Costa Rica.  One of our goals in life is to actually visit all of the U.S. National Parks.  In high school I visited Spain, France, and Italy so those would be my personal favorites, I just need to take Clint with me someday to experience those trips too! 

We have loved meeting all of our clients and consider many of you friends. I'm thankful to be blessed with the gift of photography.  To me, it is truly a gift to be invited into the lives of our clients on the most important days of their lives.  I have been there for the last portrait in someone's life, the portraits of a baby's first breath, the moment two lives become one, and the moments of independence as our seniors transition to adulthood.  There is no greater gift for a photographer than to be able to capture the heart of the moment. If you are a new client visiting us for the first time, welcome. We thank you for your time and are so excited to meet you and become apart of your lives.