A Belief in the Power of Photographic Art
Imagine a space that does more than look beautiful—a space that brings you peace, lifts your spirits, and reconnects you with what matters most.
Life can be busy, demanding, and overwhelming. Sometimes, we need a quiet reminder to pause, breathe, and find joy in the moment. Nature-inspired photographic art can offer that reminder. A misty forest, a peaceful river, or sunlight filtering through the trees can invite reflection, inspire a sense of calm, and bring the restorative beauty of God's creation into your everyday life.
Your home should be more than a place to live. It should be a place where you feel comforted, renewed, and connected to the things you love. Thoughtfully chosen photographic art can help create that feeling, transforming an ordinary room into a personal sanctuary.
And some of life's most meaningful moments can be found in the wonder of childhood. Fine art portraits celebrate more than a child's appearance; they capture individuality, personality, and spirit at a special moment in life's journey—preserving the beauty of childhood in a way that can be treasured for years to come.
Whether you are choosing artwork to bring peace and beauty into your surroundings or preserving the uniqueness of a child through fine art portraiture, the right photograph can become something deeply personal—a lasting source of joy, comfort, and connection.
The beauty of creation is a gift from our Creator. Through photographic art, that beauty can become part of your life, reminding you to slow down, appreciate the present, and find wonder in the world around you.
Choose art that speaks to your heart. Create a space that nurtures your spirit. Preserve the beauty you never want to forget.
Because the most meaningful photographs don't simply show you something beautiful. They help you feel it.
Thank you for being here. My mother shared a simple piece of wisdom that has stayed with me throughout my life: “Always do your best.” I strive to carry that wisdom into everything I do, including my photographic art.
May my art bring beauty, meaning, and a little more wonder into your world.
Cathy Smart
Cathy Smart Photography, LLC,
Certified Professional Photographer, Master Photographer
Professional Photographers of America member
American Society of Photographers member
Professional Photographers of Louisiana member
Where to find my work:
The Elizabethan Gallery on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge
The Baton Rouge Rehab Hospital, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
On my website: www.cathysmart.com
Contact me at [email protected] or 225-288-7627
My Faith and Inspiration:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24
"For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9,
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything You gave me.'" - Erma Bombeck
Noteworthy:
2026 - Received 2 Images of Distinction Award from ASP
2026 - Invited to become a member of the American Society of Photographers
2026 - Received Master of Photography Degree from PPA
2025 - Presented a Zoom class "The Photographer's Eye; Seeing through the Lens" for PPLA
2024 - Presentation to the Claiborne - Assisted Living Center
2024 - International Photographic Competition - "Bound by Hope" Silver Award
2024 - PPLA Annual Image Competition - 4 - 1st place awards, 1 - 3rd place award, 3 - Judges Choice Awards
2024 - Texas Professional Photographers of America Competition - Bronze Pin -4 images receiving a Seal of Approval
2023 - Earned Certified Professional Photographer Certificate from Professional Photographers of America
2020 - Overall Photographer of the Year - Louisiana Photographic Society
2020 - Solo exhibit at Manship Theater, the Shaw Center until February 7, 2021 - Louisiana Through the Lens
2019 - Arts Market 1st Saturdays of the month
2019 - Ebb and Flow, Downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana in April
2018 - Holiday Downtown Arts Exchange - Main Street Market
2018 - Art Melt - Forum 35 - "A Mother's Love" juried into this show.
2018 - Baton Rouge Mayor's Office seven month exhibit June - January
2018 - Arts Markets in Downtown Louisiana the first Saturdays of the month.
2018 - Vice President of the Louisiana Photographic Society
2017 - Flying Egret hanging in the office of the Mayor of Hoover, Alabama
2017 - Art Melt - Forum 35 - Flying Egret #2 juried into this show, sold and is going to a good home.
2017 - Arts Markets in Downtown Louisiana the first Saturdays of the month from 8:00 - Noon
2017 - Ebb and Flow, Downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2017 - Flying Egret #2 in Shaw Center for the Arts during the month of April
2017 - Brush with Burden Juried Art Exhibit, 3rd Place for Flying Egret #2 and Award Winner for Peaceful Morning on the Bayou
2016 - Bluff Park, Alabama, Annual Juried Arts Show, October, Award Winner
2016 - Fest For All, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2016 - Arts Market in downtown Louisiana the first Saturdays of the month from 8:00 - Noon
2015 - Louisiana Photography Society's Monthly Meeting - Speaker at the September meeting; Topic: Composition
2015 - Arts Market in downtown Louisiana the first Saturdays of the month from 8:00 - Noon
Travels
Always Louisiana
2026 - Fall Colors in the Upper Peninsula
2026 - The Badlands
2026 - The Galapagos Islands
2026 - Utah - Zion and Bryce Canyon
2025 - Southwest Colorado
2025 - Alaska
2024 - Yellowstone
2024 - Colorado
2024 - Rome, Italy
2024 - Dakota's
2024 - Alaska
2024 - Southeast Asia
2023 - Colorado
2023 - Minnesota
2022 - Iceland
2022 - Texas
2022 - Colorado
2022 - Canada
2022 - Yosemite
2020 - Appalachia, Florida
2020 - Alaska
2019 - Israel
2019 - Chili
2019 - Bolivia
2018 - Joshua Tree National Park, California
2018 - Oregon Coast
2018 - Laguna Beach, California
2018 - Chicago
2018 - Savannah, Georgia
2018 - Crested Butte, Colorado
2018 - Washington D.C.
2018 - Wildlife in the Atchafalaya - Louisiana Bayous and Birds with Doug Hansgate
2017 - Africa (Johannesburg, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia)
2017 - Guatemala
2016 - "As the Mist Rises" Louisiana Swamps with C C Lockwood
2016 - Africa, Maasai Mara Preserve, Kenya
2016 - Utah
2016 - Colorado
2016 - Nevada
2016 - New York
2016 - Maine
2015 - California
2015 - New Mexico
Past Recognitions
2020 - Overall Photographer of the Year - Louisiana Photographic Society
2020 - Photographer of the Year - Master's Division - Monotone Category - LPS
2018 - Photographer of the Year - Master's Division - Louisiana Photographic Society
2018 - Photographer of the Year - Monochrome Print - Louisiana Photographic Society
2018 - Photographer of the Year - Monochrome Digital Projection, Louisiana Photographic Society
2018 - Monthly Winning Images at the Louisiana Photographic Society
2018 - Art Melt - Forum 35 - A Mother's Love juried into the show
2017 - President's Award at the Bluff Park Art Festival, Alabama
2017 - Art Melt - Forum 35 - Flying Egret #2 juried into the show
2017 - Brush with Burden 3rd Place Winner, Flying Egret #2, on display at the Shaw Center for the Arts in April
2016 - Photographer of the Year Color Digital Projection, Level A, Louisiana Photographic Society
2015 - Overall Photographer of the Year, Louisiana Photographic Society
2015 - Photographer of the Year Color Prints Level A, Louisiana Photographic Society
2015 - Photographer of the Year Digital Projection Monotone, Level A, Louisiana Photographic Society
2015 - Baton Rouge's Forum 35's Art Melt 2015 - "A Framed View" accepted into this juried art exhibit and sale, and on display for six weeks at the Capitol Park Museum in Downtown, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2015 - Brush with Burden juried Art Exhibit - won Third Place; At the conclusion of this exhibit the winning image was on display at the Shaw Center, downtown Baton Rouge, for the month of April.
2014 - Overall Photographer of the Year, Louisiana Photographic Society
2014 - Photographer of the Year Digital Projection Monotone, Louisiana Photographic Society
2014 - Photographer of the Year Monotone Prints - Level A, Louisiana Photographic Society
2013-2014 Pictorial Projected Image of the Year - Second Place - Gulf States Camera Club Council - “Bridge in LaJolla”
2013 - Photographer of the Year Digital Projection - Black and White Levels A & B - Louisiana Photographic Society
2013 - Photographic Society of America - Prints: Color or Monochrome - Individual Award - Honorable Mention “Rainbow Ignites”
2012-2013 Pictorial Color Print of the Year - Honorable Mention - Gulf States Camera Club Council - “Rainbow Ignites”
2012-2013 Nature Projected Image of the Year - Honorable Mention - Gulf States Camera Club Council - “Taking Flight”
2012 - Photographer of the Year Digital Projection Level B - Louisiana Photographic Society
Exhibits
2023 - Healthcare Gallery exhibit April 8 - June 30
2021 - Livingston Parish Library Exhibit
2020 - Manship Theater Solo Exhibit - Louisiana Through the Lens - until February 7, 2021
2020 - Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Exhibit
2020 - The Market at Circa
2020 - Elizabethan Gallery
2018 - Firehouse Gallery 20th Anniversary for the Baton Rouge Arts Market
2018 - Brush with Burden juried art exhibit and sale
2018 - Royal Standard exhibit in October
2018 - Bluebonnet Library Exhibit in August
2018 - Baton Rouge Mayor's Office June to January 2019
2018 - August - Solo exhibit at the Bluebonnet Library, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
2018 - Elizabethan Gallery
2018 - The Market at Circa
2018 - Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, exhibit and sale
2017 - Capitol Park Museum, Forum 35's Art Melt juried art exhibit and sale
2017 - Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge, exhibit and sale
2017 - Brush with Burden, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, juried art exhibit and sale
2016 - Louisiana State Archives, Baton Rouge exhibit and sale
2015 - Capitol Park Museum, Forum 35's Art Melt juried art exhibit and sale
2015 - Greenwell Springs Library exhibit.
2015 - Brush with Burden, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, juried art exhibit and sale
2015 - Arts Council of Livingston Parish
2014 - Arts Council of Livingston Parish
2014 - Louisiana Old State Capitol - juried exhibit and art sale
2014 - Brush with Burden juried art exhibit and sale
2013 - Arts Council of Baton Rouge
Publications
2025 - PPA monthly magazine - Preening Egret used for CPP ad
2019 - In Register July edition; Fireworks Over the Mississippi River
2018 - 225's Spaces and Places Magazine, article "Wonder Walls" featuring "Flying Egret #2" on the gallery walls of owner Garrett Kemp
2015 - May - "Louisiana Remembers", 225 Magazine on the 'Picture This' page.
2015 - April - In Register Magazine, Travel article and photos about trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico in the Fall of 2014 - .http://www.inregister.com/features/travel-journal-new-mexico
2015 - February - Country Roads Magazine - “A Framed View” article about the Louisiana Old State Capitol, photo by Cathy Smart
2014 - 25th Festival of the Bonfires - festivalofthebonfires.org - “Bonfire on the Levee” photo by Cathy Smart
2013 - December - Country Roads Magazine - Tramonte’s Meat and Seafood Market, photos by Cathy Smart
2013 - December - Country Roads Magazine, Lighting the Dark article - “Fire and Ice” photo of Bonfires in Gramercy by Cathy Smart
2013 - September - Country Roads Magazine - 30th Anniversary, 30 Favorite Things To Do - #28 Start a Bonfire - “Bonfire on the Levee” photo by Cathy Smart
2013 - February/March issue of Bayou Journal - Bayou Teche Experience - Cover Photo "Taking Flight" by Cathy Smart
