When I booked our family session at Rachel Yoon Photography, I'll be honest — I was bracing myself. Anyone who has tried to do anything with a baby in tow knows the silent calculus: How many stairs? Where will I change her? What happens if she has a meltdown halfway through? Will I be that mom apologizing the entire time?
Spoiler: none of that happened. And it's because Rachel has built something most photographers haven't — a studio that genuinely works for families with little ones.
What Makes It Baby-Friendly
I've started paying attention to the small details that make or break an outing with Kiran, and Rachel's studio doesn't just check the boxes — it has things I didn't know to ask for:
No stairs, full elevator access — I rolled the stroller right up to the studio door without unbuckling once
A dedicated baby changing area — fully stocked with diapers, wipes, creams, and sanitizers, so you can leave the diaper bag in the car if you really want to
A wipe warmer and a bottle warmer — yes, really. Cold wipes mid-session is a fast track to a screaming baby, and Rachel's team knows it
Space heaters tuned for newborns — the studio is kept warm enough for those bare-skin newborn shots without anyone having to ask
An on-site outfit and gown wardrobe — wraps and gowns for maternity, plus full outfits for babies and kids, so you can pack light
Mom essentials, too — eyelash glue, nail glue, and the little touch-up kit you didn't realize you'd want until you saw the camera come out
Coffee, snacks, and a play area for siblings — small mercies that turn a "session" into something almost relaxing
The wardrobe deserves a callout. Many of the props are sourced and curated directly from Korea — Rachel's home country — because she has a real feel for the fashion trends coming out of Seoul that haven't quite hit Vancouver yet. The bulk of everything else is intentionally bought from local Canadian vendors. It shows up in the photos: textures, colours, and styling all feel like they belong together.
Time Slots That Actually Work With Babies
Rachel offers 20-minute mini sessions when that's all you need, but for sessions where the baby's mood is going to drive the day, she books two- and three-hour time windows instead of strict start times. That's not a reflection of how long the photos take. It's a reflection of how long babies take to be ready for photos. The pressure that usually wrecks a session just… wasn't there.
Rachel & The Team
Rachel is the founder, and she's been described as a "baby whisperer" by approximately everyone who has worked with her. The Burnaby studio is run by Vanessa Semchuk, who has been with Rachel for eight years and shoots babies from four months and up. Emily Leeman and Iris Chia — both with prior hospital newborn experience — handle maternity and newborn sessions, Kate Bailey coordinates packages and consultations, and Lena Park handles editing. Every photographer on the team has stacked up multiple baby-safety certifications and follows strict, infant-age-specific rules around posing and handling.
They're calm and on-schedule. With a 14-month-old, this matters more than people realize. Rachel's team sticks to the time they book — which means you can actually plan the rest of your day around it.
They're professional baby wranglers. There's a patience to working with little ones that you can't fake, and every person I interacted with had it.
A Keepsake Designed To Be Played With
Vanessa pulled me aside near the end of the session to show me My Baby's First Year — Rachel's storybook product. It's a board book. Not a delicate album that lives on a high shelf — a real, durable board book built to survive a toddler's toy rotation. The illustrations are designed by Vancouver-based artists, and every book is fully customized in-house by the photographers who actually shot your sessions.
📍 Rachel Yoon Photography — 3787 Canada Way #208, Burnaby, BC · rachelyoonphotography.com
If you're a Vancouver or Burnaby parent who has been putting off family photos because the logistics feel overwhelming — this is the studio that removes the friction.