*Disclosure: Marina has gifted us two photo sessions in exchange for writing about our experience. We’ve also paid for a photo session with her. I can earn commissions from bookings for her services that come from this site. (a href=”https://wwww.cartagenaexplorer.com/disclosure-policy/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Disclosure Policy.
Cartagena is incredibly photogenic!
There’s something really special about photos on the charming, historic, and colorful streets of the city’s colonial districts, and I’m sure you’ll be showing off your Cartagena photos to friends and family after your visit.
If you want to capture some really special memories to show off, consider having a professional Cartagena photoshoot!
We’ve done several photoshoots in Cartagena with local Cartagena photographer Marina Maldonado, aka Your Local Photographer in Cartagena, and we’ve loved them all!
Read on to learn more about our Cartagena photoshoot experiences, why we recommend Marina, and how you can book her yourself for your own professional photo session in Cartagena!
Why a Professional Cartagena Photoshoot is Worth it
I’m going to be honest, I never loved taking photos all that much!
Ok, well, I like taking snapshots of things like sites, landscapes, or whatever strikes me as a cool looking scene, especially when we travel.
But posing for photos myself or stopping to take a bunch of photos posing somewhere, I’ve never really liked.
I’m pretty sure when I was about 10 years old my mother was probably ready to leave me on the side of the road somewhere after I refused to smile for a photo session we did once as a family. I’m pretty sure Susana has been ready to do the same a few times!
I’ve tried to get better about it, especially since this site has become a money making venture. Heck, I even try to remember to take photos of my food before I eat it now!
Still, if you pay close attention, you’ll see a lot more photos of Susana posing at places than me around the site.
All that being said, after our first photo session in Cartagena with Marina Maldonado, a professional Cartagena photographer, I have to say, it was totally worth taking the time to pose and capture these photos.
After the birth of our daughter Aaliyah, we knew we wanted to do another Cartagena photo session with her, and we also hired Marina to shoot Aaliyah’s baptism.
We’ve loved working with her every time and loved having these professional Cartagena photos too!
Marina Maldonado: Our Local Cartagena Photographer
Marina is Cartagena born and bred, and has over two decades experience as a professional photographer.
In addition to capturing people’s special memories in the beautiful streets of Cartagena, she’s also worked as a photo journalist and official photographer for the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
We thought she was terrific working with us as a couple, getting us to twirl, dance, laugh, look into each others’ eyes, and capture some really fun shots.
She also did great when we had Aaliyah, who was about 9 months at the time.
If you have a young child, you know it can be really hard to get them to look at the camera, while also sitting still, while also smiling, while also actually being ready to snap the photo!
Marina did great setting us up for great photos with Aaliyah, and the photos from the baptism are also terrific.
In short, I really can’t recommend her enough if you’re looking for a professional photoshoot in Cartagena.
Best of all, I’m excited to say that we now have a partnership with Marina!
In addition to standard street photo sessions, Marina is available for special sessions like engagement or maternity photos, events, and a really neat flying dress shoot. She even offers a neat Cartagena Photography Tour where she takes you around to the best sites for photos, shares tips for capturing them, and gives you some historical background along the way.
You can learn more about her all her services and get a quote on a Cartagena photoshoot here!
I’ll share more about our experiences below and include lots more examples of our photos, but you can also see more of her work at her website and at her Instagram page.
Some Practical Tips for Your Photoshoot in Cartagena
Before I share a bit about each of our professional Cartagena photo sessions with Marina, I wanted to just share some general tips.
First, as I’m sure Marina, or any other good photographer, will recommend, do your shoot early in the morning. Not only will it be cooler, but there will be many fewer people out and about.
This will give you the freedom to pose and get some great shots with all the beautiful backdrops Cartagena’s streets offer.
While you want to look good, I’d also recommend dressing in things that are comfortable for walking around and that keep in mind that even early in the AM, it can get warm in Cartagena!
Marina has let us bring along an extra outfit for one change of clothes in both of the sessions we’ve done with her. That let us do a nicer, more formal style outfit, and a more casual one.
Sundresses, linen, and nicer sandals are all great ideas and things like Panama hats and sweet shades look great in Cartagena too and add some snaz to your photos. You can check out my Cartagena packing list for lots of ideas for both your Cartagena photo session and just exploring town too, by the way.
Our Professional Photo Sessions in Cartagena with Marina
I’ve included a sample of photos from our 3 times working with Marina scattered about above, but I’d thought I’d briefly touch on our experience each time and share more examples along the way in these sections.
Our Couple’s Cartagena Photo Session
This first photoshoot with Marina was back in 2019, just around the holidays.
We had a great time doing this session!
We met Marina early in the morning in Getsemaní. That allowed us to get some great shots done in the colonial doorways and with the overhanging flags and umbrellas all to ourselves.
We then headed over to the Walled City where we got some more great photos with Cartagena’s iconic Clocktower along the way.
After a outfit change, we went around the Walled City and got some more great photos in the doorway of the Cathedral, in the plaza of Parque Bolívar, and in the charming colonial streets of Centro.
Marina had us walking holding hands, staring deeply into each other’s eyes, running across streets, dancing, and even jumping!
They made for a lot of really beautiful, romantic shots, but also some really neat and unique ones, like us dancing in front of the beautiful yellow columns of the Gobernación building.
One thing I noticed, and really appreciated as well during this session, is Marina’s great eye for cool photos like that one.
She got really excited about finding a street cart left on the corner, and captured a really neat photo of us with it in the frame that I would have never imagined capturing myself.
While I know we all carry around pretty decent cameras in our pocket nowadays, it’s eyes for little details like those that still make a professional photography session in Cartagena worth it.
There were a few other really neat ones like that with someone on a bicycle going by, or neat scenes in the street behind us.
We then finished by getting some photos around and atop the wall, certainly a must have memory of Cartagena!
As I mentioned above, I’ve never been crazy about posing for photos. However, I really did enjoy this session with Marina, and we have lots of really great photos from it, that I still look back on fondly.
By the way, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but Marina does provide high quality copies of your photos for download once she has a chance to review and touch them up.
She provided us with over 100 photos each time, including black and white versions of some shots.
So, it’s not one of those deals where you only get 10 photos to download or get to pick a few prints and that’s that.
You get to download the files to keep forever and reproduce however you like.
Our Family Photoshoot in Cartagena with Marina
When we returned to visit Cartagena in the summer of 2024 so Susana’s family could meet our daughter Aaliyah, Susana really wanted to do a professional family photoshoot in Cartagena.
We, of course, booked Marina for it!
With 9 month old Aaliyah, we didn’t range quite as far for this session, but we got more really neat photos.
This time, we met Marina in the Walled City, just next to the wall, and headed up there to do some shots first.
So many of these turned out great, and I was really impressed once again at ideas Marina came up with and how well she did snapping photos at the perfect moments, not to mention getting Aaliyah’s attention.
We got plenty of nice ones smiling, kissing Aaliyah, posing as a family, and even a great one with the Palenqueras.
However, we also got lots with funny faces, sticking out tongues, and laughing.
One of my personal favorites is her laughing at me while sticking my tongue out. It’ll be a photo and memory I’ll cherish forever!
We finished with a few shots doing our best to recreate the photo of Susana and I dancing in front of the Gobernación building.
Aaliyah loves looking at these photos in some albums we have and I know they’ll be a joy to look at years into the future, not to mention practice saying the word “Palenqueras.”
Our Cartagena Event Photography Experience with Marina at Aaliyah’s Baptism
We also hired Marina to shoot Aaliyah’s baptism in Cartagena during our summer 2024 trip.
The baptism was the the lovely San Pedro Claver church, my pick for the prettiest of the historic churches in Cartagena.
I was really impressed with Marina as a Cartagena event photographer as well.
She came a bit early for some great shots before the ceremony, with Aaliyah posing with us and other family.
The photos of the event itself all turned out great, and we got some great group shots afterwards too.
We have an album of this too that Aaliyah loves looking at, and these are really great photos of an event that was really important for Susana.
I’m very glad we hired a professional for it, and we didn’t have to worry about getting great photos ourselves or having a friend or family member do it.
We could be fully present in the moment and enjoy the ceremony.
So, I wouldn’t hesitate to suggest Marina if you’re looking for a professional event photographer in Cartagena!
Want to book your photoshoot in Cartagena with Marina?
As I noted near the top, I’m excited to have an official partnership with Marina.
Whether you want family photos in Cartagena, a couple’s Cartagena photoshoot, some professional photos for an engagement, maternity, or some other special occasion announcement, some captures of an event, or just some fun photos to make your Insta feed the envy of your friends, Marina is a great choice.
She is also available for “Flying Dress” shoots, which produce some really neat photos!
Her Cartagena Photography Tour would also be a great way to take some of your own photos with some guidance from a professional photographer in Cartagena on the best spots, tips on how to best capture them, and learn a bit of history along the way!
If you’re interested, you can see learn some more about her Cartagena photo shoots here or fill out the form below to start an inquiry, get a quote, and plan your own photo session in Cartagena with her!
Cheers and Happy Posing!
Planning a trip to Cartagena?
Be sure to check out the rest of the site to help you plan!
In particular, you might want to check out my complete guide to planning a trip to Cartagena, my guide to the best areas to stay, my list of over 75 things to do, my picks for the best Cartagena tours, the best day trips from Cartagena, my suggested packing list, my guide to the Rosario Islands, and my guide to all the beaches of Cartagena.
Want to Plan Your Own Photo Session in Cartagena?
Given what I just said above, I really can’t recommend Marina enough to do it!
While I’m not so sure my 10 year old still wouldn’t have been difficult, I had a much better time than I have had doing in studio sessions. Never did it feel cheesy or boring.
In addition to offering sessions for couples, Marina offers solo sessions or sessions for families.
She generally follows a route similar to ours, but she does also offer an afternoon session. While you might have to navigate some more crowds, you will also end up with some great photos at sunset time.
Marina can also tailor a session just for you according to your needs and desires that will surely highlight the beauty of Cartagena and the memories you make here as well as do special events like birthdays or showers.
Marina’s Contact Information:
- See Marina’s website here.
- Check out her work on Facebook here.
- Check out her work on Instagram here.
- Contact her by phone or Whatsapp at +57 315 611-6881
- Contact her by email at fotografia@marinamaldonado.com.co
A Few More of Our Favorite Shots
Overall, we had a great time during our photo session with Your Local Photographer in Cartagena Marina Maldonado and would definitely recommend her if you want to get some great photos as keepsakes of your time in Cartagena!
Again here is her contact info:
- See Marina’s website here.
- Check out her work on Facebook here.
- Check out her work on Instagram here.
- Contact her by phone or Whatsapp at +57 301 605-6182
- Contact her by email at fotografia@marinamaldonado.com.co
Cheers and Happy Posing!
Awesome! How much did the session cost?
Hi KK. Marina actually gave us the session complementary in exchange for sharing our experience. It’s best to reach out to her and find out her current prices. She was really good and the photos even compressed for sharing on the site speak for themselves. We had a fun time doing it too.