Kelli LK Haines is a lifelong student of photography. At an early age, her father gave her a camera when she began to have problems with her eyesight. She progressed to the camera she uses now, a 4x5 Crown Graflex. Her neighbor, photographer Todd Webb, became her mentor when she was in high school.

She studied at the Maine Photographic Workshops with Lucy Johnson and Arnold Newman (1995-1997) through a grant received from the State of Maine to study portraiture and lighting,worked as an AP photographer, a commercial photographer and in museum curatorial and education.
In 2002, Kelli was awarded the Carina residency (now MARC) on Monhegan Island ,ME,administered by The Farnsworth Museum and Wyeth Center which opened the door to pursue fine art photography full time. She was a photography teacher at UMaine Augusta,teaching the upper level courses ,while she continued to exhibit, having a solo exhibition of 50 of her pieces from her 6 week residency on Monhegan in 2003.
Recent achievements include being named to Women in Photography International (2015), the Julia Margaret Cameron Annual international competition: 13th annual First place in portraiture and alternative process (2019) and 15th annual in Series Portraiture and Architectural and Interiors (2020). In 2020 she was awarded the first Alumnus residency to the Monhegan Artists Residency (MARC) completed in Fall 2021. 2023 Kelli’s work of the Maine lobstermen was recognized by the 20th annual Julia Margaret Cameron worldwide awards in documentary and reportage to be exhibited Barcelona, 2024. Her recent Monhegan works  "Along the Coast",exhibited at Cove St. Arts, Portland Maine, Spring 2024. In June 2024, she was juried into the prestigious Salmagundi Club’s 63rd annual Photography show on 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York.
Ms. Haines continues to photograph with her large format cameras which allow her to develop a closer relationship with her subject matter. Notable portraits include author Norman Mailer, Gov. Mario Cuomo, singer Tony Bennett, and scientist Kenneth Carr .

She is currently working on developing the Eco Tin Type  which embraces the timeless style of a tin type with an environmentally conscious process .

She has been exhibiting since 1988in New England and the southeast and continues to exhibit locally and internationally

Below: Homeward Bound, Monhegan, ME 2023