About Andrea Mathes
Luxury Portrait Photographer Serving Pella, Des Moines, and Central Iowa
Meet Andrea
The Woman
Behind The Lens
I am a lot of things. A wife. A mom of two littles. A cancer survivor. A woman who has sat with fear long enough to know exactly what it costs and what it is worth to finally move through it.
I am also a photographer. But if you have spent any time here, you already know that what happens in my studio goes far beyond a photo session.
Her Journey
How It Started
Long before I picked up a camera professionally, I was walking through my own journey. Old wounds. Deep-seated lies I had learned to live by. Stories about myself that I had carried so long I had stopped questioning whether they were even true.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, everything I thought was healed came back to the surface. But so did my people. The women who surrounded me, my husband, my family. They held me steady when I was drowning. They helped me see the truth when I could not see it myself.
Three days after my diagnosis, I had my photo taken.
That image is still my favorite photo of me. You can see the fear in it. You can also see the strength. And somewhere in the space between those two things, I found the work I was always meant to do.
In The Studio
What I Do
With Light & Lens Photography is a full-service luxury portrait studio serving women, families, seniors, and couples across Pella, Central Iowa, and the Des Moines area. Every session I offer, from family portraits to boudoir to my signature Lift Your Soul experience, is designed with the same intention: to meet you exactly where you are and show you who you truly are.
This is not a point-and-shoot operation. From the moment you reach out, you are walking into a full red-carpet experience. We will talk before you ever step in front of my camera. I will come to your home. I will help you plan what you wear, understand your space, and design portraits that were made for your walls specifically. Not just beautiful images, but intentional art that belongs in your life.
When your portraits are ready, I deliver and install them myself. Because the experience does not end when the session does. It ends when you walk into the room and see yourself on that wall.
The Heart of This Work
A Note on Grace
At the heart of everything I do is a hope that every woman who works with me walks away understanding the transformational power of grace. Not as something she has to earn, but as something she already has access to.
My job is to show her what that looks like. And give her permission to rest there.
If you are ready to be seen, truly, fully, beautifully seen, I would be honored to be the one who shows you.