ABOUT - Patty Swanson Photography

about patty

Celebrate Life! with Patty Swanson Photography.

Patty Swanson is an award-winning photographer who brings fun, creativity, and sensitivity to every photo session.

The true essence of Patty's subjects radiates through her pictures because she captures them in their environment, engaged in their passion and lifestyle - on the playing field, with a beloved friend, or by a favorite landscape. But her creativity and talent don't stop there...she then works with each individual client to custom tailor these amazing images into unique and usable works of art.

It's so important to remember everyday moments like sisterhood, brotherhood, family camaraderie and friendship...and what better way than with a professionally created photograph? Commemorate milestones like a new born baby, birthdays, anniversaries, pregnancy, graduation, religious rituals and rights a passage or a family reunion...maybe even a professional headshot for your business or something fun for an online dating site? A distinctive photograph is the best way to capture those moments forever.

She is a Certified Professional Photographer specified by Professional Photographers of America, a designation held by only five percent of photographers worldwide. Her work has received praise and numerous awards from the Connecticut Professional Photographer’s Association including 2020 Connecticut Certified Photographer of the Year and the 2020 Lifestyle Court of Honor. She has also received Judge’s Awards, the People’s Choice Award, Best in Show, and several Blue Ribbons. Patty has owned and operated her photography studio out of her home in West Hartford since 2001, and specializes in studio and on-location portraiture, including head shots, pets, product photography, digital retouching, and fine art photography. One of her specialties is what she calls an “estilo de pintor” (a painterly rendition), and she also designs one-of-a-kind photographic greeting cards as well as promotional material for small businesses.

Her work has been featured on many websites as well as local and regional publications, including the Hill-Stead Museum, Noah Webster House, Life on the Mountain and River Highlands lifestyle magazines, a Hartford travel guide, and she was one of the featured photographers in the coffee table book, "Hartford, New England’s Rising Star".

Patty donates her time and expertise to many local charities and non-profit organizations, including Labs4rescue, Kenway's Cause, NILMDTS (Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep), Connecticut's Department of Children and Families' Heart Gallery and Noah Webster House. As the mother of twins who were born prematurely in 1995, her volunteer work for the March of Dimes is especially near and dear to her heart. For 10 years she photographed premature babies and their families in the neo-natal intensive care unit at UConn Medical Center by request, and the photographic session and a memory book of prints were her gifts to the families. Fourteen of her images have been selected to permanently hang in the NICU’s “Family Centered Care Tender Moments Gallery.”

Patty first studied photography as a senior at the University of Northern Iowa in 1985 and then at the Paier College of Art 2001. She first began her work as a photojournalist at the Mason City Globe Gazette, a daily newspaper, in Mason City, Iowa. After more than a decade in the corporate world, Patty began freelancing for the West Hartford News in 1998, and after three years established her own business in portrait and freelance photography.

Patty is married and has 2 adult children.