By Sara Beth Williams–
When local photographer Diane Miller wanted to take her part-time business to the next level, the first thing she needed was the right property that would allow her to have her own private studio. In 2003, Miller said her real estate agent found just the right property, on Calvin Drive in Citrus Heights.
Her real estate agent called the property “strange,” but with its unique layout and plenty of space to work with, Miller said she and her husband loved it.
Her home studio is designed around half an acre of property, with a creek running behind, several oak trees, an orange tree, and old stone steps. During the first decade of ownership, Miller said she and her husband paved the gravel drive, which stretched around the backside of the property.
The Millers also updated the landscaping around the property, adding walkways, a fire pit, patio furniture, and an created an outdoor studio with the creek as its backdrop. She also has an indoor studio with a kitchen area, and living quarters above.
On a tour of the property, Miller says she frequently uses the changes in season to her advantage, utilizing the colorful fall foliage and the orange tree as backdrops in the latter half of the year.
Miller began doing photography part time in 1993 while she also worked as a registered nurse in the neonatal unit at UC Davis. She says she has worked with a lot of clients who were in the NICU, and then acquired more and more clients by word of mouth.
“I didn’t start doing photography right away because I was always told, ‘oh don’t do that, you won’t make enough money,’” Miller said.
By 2000 and onward, Miller began collecting multiple awards, including multiple awards in multiple categories from the Professional Photographers of Sacramento Valley since 1999, and multiple awards in multiple categories from the Best of Citrus Heights gala, presented by the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce annually. Miller has been involved with the Chamber for years and is currently on the board.
Miller began displaying her awards on her hallway wall, and joked that in the beginning, she would space the awards out, as she wasn’t expecting to win so many. Now she says she has to sometime soon rearrange them to be closer together.
One of Miller’s passions is providing free photography sessions for newborns who are in the neonatal intensive care unit, particularly those who are critically ill and not expected to survive. She founded a program in 2004 called “Little Blessings,” and coordinates with nurses in local NICUs in order to photographs chronic and terminally ill babies at no charge. The parents receive a disc of images from the session that is theirs to keep.
Some of the most memorable “Little Blessings” photos hang in the hallway of Miller’s studio, including the photo of a chronically ill premature twin newborn who did not survive. Miller said later in life while speaking at a local college, the sister of the newborn who passed away, recognized her, and recognized the photo, saying that her parents still have the same photo in their home.
“The portrait sessions are not about capturing illness, but rather capturing a life filled with spirit, hope and courage,” Miller says.
Miller focuses on business professional and family photography, including newborn and infant photography, maternity and family portraits, engagement photos and small weddings, and professional headshots. Locally, Miller has provided campaign headshots for Kelsey Nelson, Porsche Middleton, and other local officials, she says. Her website also indicates that she does business events, commercial real estate photography, and graduating senior and pet portraits.
Though not known for landscape photography, Miller recently also won an award from the City of Citrus Heights for her multiple entries into the city’s community “Postcards of Citrus Heights” contest, which asked photographers to submit photos of a tree or trees throughout the city. The city handed out awards in three different categories, including one to a youth photographer, one to a hobbyist photographer, and one to a professional photographer.
Miller grew up in Pittsburg, and met her husband on a blind date, she recalls. They then moved to the Sacramento area in 1987, and both were able to secure jobs working at UC Davis Medical Center. She moved to Citrus Heights in 2003.
“I love Citrus Heights,” she says, adding that she appreciates the city’s stable financial status.
Miller enjoys playing pickleball three times a week, speaks, teaches, and volunteers around the region, and even continues to attend classes and seminars on photography for herself.
Miller recently celebrated 30 years of being in business as a photographer in 2023.
