Two men in blue robes crossing calm water in a small blue boat in Egypt

Portraits · Travel · Events

I photograph the moments most people walk past.

Hi, I’m Skylar. I’m a Bay Area photographer, and what I love most is meeting people and catching the moments they actually want to keep.

Explore my work Book a session

Egypt

My point of view

Photography became my way of bringing the places I experienced and the stories I noticed home with me.

I picked up a real camera because I wanted better photographs of the places my family and I traveled. Then I realized the most interesting part was often the life happening inside the view.

A couple laughing in a Paris park. Two men in blue robes crossing the water in Egypt. Friends forgetting the camera is there. I love the split second when an image stops being a record and becomes a memory you can feel.

Selected work

A well-traveled eye.

Travel · People · The moments between

Two men in blue robes crossing calm water in a small blue boat — Blue CrossingEgypt

Black and white cafe portrait of a woman in an oversized blazer looking straight into the camera — Table for OneParis, France

Pink, black, gold, and ivory knit swimwear hanging against a white wall — Summer PaletteFashion Study

A red, orange and green checkered hot air balloon floating above hazy desert cliffs — Above the DesertEgypt

A surfer carving through a glassy green wave — Inside the WaveOcean Study

Black and white photograph of a couple sitting on the grass in a Paris park, mid-conversation — The Way He Looked at HerLe Marais, Paris

The studio

Curious by nature.
Created with heart.

Created by Sky started because I wanted better photographs of the places I was going. Now it is a business, and the beginning of a creative life I’m still building.

Behind the camera

Skylar Cantando smiling in a cafe, holding an iced matcha — Skylar Cantando

Hi, I’m Skylar.

I take photographs, I run things at school, and I am extremely hard to bore.

I’m happiest when I can connect ideas that are usually kept apart: photography and business, fashion and everyday life, ambition and fun.

I’m Student Body President, mentoring 80 Leadership students across all four grades, and President of Cultivating Thinking, where I help teach elementary students about identity and belonging. At Vogue Summer School in New York, I chose Business & Marketing because I wanted to understand everything behind the creative work, from brand strategy to customer experience.

That experience clarified something important: I don’t want to choose between taking the photograph and shaping the bigger story. I want a future that includes both.

BasedOrinda, California

Shoots withSony A7

Inspired byFashion, film & faraway places

Always looking for the story inside the view.

I’m usually saving a place I want to visit, noticing what someone is wearing, or wondering about the people in a photograph long after I took it.

Stories behind the frame

The trips that changed how I see.

Places are beautiful. The people inside them are what make me keep looking.

Story 01 · Egypt

The trip that taught me courage.

Egypt was the first trip I pushed my parents to take. I saved for better lenses and arrived determined to photograph everyday life, not just landmarks. Watching two men in blue robes drift by in a little blue boat changed something in me. Before Egypt, I looked for beauty in landscapes. After it, I looked for the human moments within them, and learned to observe without interrupting.

Story 02 · Paris

The city that keeps telling love stories.

I first saw Paris at seven in a turquoise beret, with a Nutella crêpe and an endless supply of Eiffel Tower photos. At sixteen I returned with my camera and wandered differently. My favorite photograph is a couple laughing in Le Marais. The way he looked at her made the whole park disappear. I still wonder who they were.

Also part of the picture

NY-style pizzaSewing experimentsInterstellarFrench dessertsBig ideasThe Great Gatsby

Working together

Clear pricing. No awkward guessing.

2026 launch rates · Weekends & summers

These are my launch rates, so they are lower than most Bay Area photographers charge. They cover the planning, the shoot, the editing, and getting the photos to you. Travel beyond 15 miles from Orinda is quoted before booking.

Portrait Mini

$225

A relaxed, quick session

30 minutes
One Bay Area location
10 edited high-resolution images
Private online gallery

Choose this session

Signature Senior

$375

My longest session, with room to change looks

Up to 75 minutes
Two outfits or looks
25 edited high-resolution images
Location and styling guide

Choose this session

Events

$175/hr

Two-hour minimum

Candid and key group photos
35 to 50 edited images per hour
Private online gallery
Preview images within 72 hours

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Travel Prints

From $45

Archival, unframed prints

8 × 10 starting at $45
11 × 14 starting at $65
16 × 20 starting at $95
Larger sizes quoted on request

Choose this session

A 25% retainer reserves the date. Final payment is due on the session day.

Start a conversation

Tell me what you want to remember.

Share the people, place, and feeling you have in mind. I’ll reply with availability and next steps.

Replies within two business days.

skycantando@gmail.com

I photograph the moments most people walk past.

Photography became my way of bringing the places I experienced and the stories I noticed home with me.

A well-traveled eye.

Curious by nature.Created with heart.

I take photographs, I run things at school, and I am extremely hard to bore.

Always looking for the story inside the view.

The trips that changed how I see.

The trip that taught me courage.

The city that keeps telling love stories.

Clear pricing. No awkward guessing.

Portrait Mini

Signature Senior

Events

Travel Prints

Tell me what you want to remember.

Curious by nature.
Created with heart.