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abies are like rock stars. Temperamental? Check. Needy? Sure. Beautiful? Always. For Elle Zober, the similarities don’t end there. The Beaverton photographer has ample experience taking striking images of both and finds that whether it’s a sold-out rock concert or a studio session with a 3-month-old, she only has one chance to capture the vital moments in life. Zober is one of a handful of successful, local photographers whose work has been ignited by the most inspiring of life experiences — mother-hood.

Sixteen years and thousands of miles away, Zober photographed rock bands in London and Scotland (see sidebar). Now, the mother of two — a boy and a girl, ages 2 and 6 — said the goal of her business and the passion in her life is a love of babies and a desire to offer beautiful pictures that

anyone can afford.

“The biggest influence on my business is that I am a mom,” she said. “I want your baby to look nice. I want to capture all the little, squishy faces that they’re going to stop making and the tight lit-tle fists that they only make in those early days.” “I give (moms) that moment in time that they’re not going to get back.”

Like the rock stars before them, Zober now uses her creative energy to make “every babe a star.” She provides tutus, knit hats, props and qual-ity backgrounds to bring out the personality and style of adorable little ones (or their parents). Recently she had custom, crocheted roller skates and a skull cap waiting for a baby with an adoring aunt who happens to be a roller derby queen. If Angela Smith had experienced a similar level of portrait-taking passion, she might never have turned to photography herself.

Dissatisfied after a trip to a mall portrait studio

with her first child six years ago, Smith decided to take matters into her own hands.

“I was disappointed with the lack of effort,” the Sherwood mother of two said of the experience. “I felt like I could have taken photos better than that.”

For Christmas that year, her husband bought her a digital SLR with the caveat that she couldn’t take their son to a mall studio ever again. Smith, a former photography assistant and member of the Professional Photographers of Sacramento, set to work learning her camera inside and out. She practiced by taking monthly portraits of her son, then branched out to take photos of chil-dren in the neighborhood. She found that she especially loved the challenge and spontaneity of shooting newborns.

“You get what babies give you,” she said.

GOING PRO — Angela Smith of Angela Smith Photography uses her garage at home in Sherwood to photograph babies, sen-iors and small groups. In inset, a sample of the work by Rock Creek photographer Krissy Allori.